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Munir Uz Zaman / AFP - Getty Images
An activist shouts slogans as he and others including former freedom fighters who fought against Pakistan in the 1971 war demonstrate outside the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka Monday.
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh's war crimes tribunal sentenced a popular Islamic televangelist to death Monday, the first verdict by the controversial body set up to probe abuses during the country's bloody struggle for independence.
Abul Kalam Azad, a former member of Bangladesh's biggest Islamist party, was found guilty of torture, rape and genocide during the war for independence from Pakistan in 1971.
Police believe he fled to Pakistan last April and he was tried in absentia.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set up the tribunal in 2010 to probe abuses during the conflict that claimed about 3 million lives and during which thousands of women were raped. Another 11 people are awaiting trial.
The tribunal has been criticized by rights groups for failing to adhere to standards of international law, while opposition parties say it is politically biased.
"The ICT (International Crimes Tribunal) in its verdict ordered for death penalty," said Shahidur Rahman, a lawyer for the prosecution in a trial that drew a huge crowd outside the court in Dhaka amid tight security.
Tribunal 'a farce'
Critics say the tribunal is being used by the prime minister as an instrument against her opponents in the country's two biggest opposition parties, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami.
Begum Khaleda Zia, Hasina's arch rival, has called the tribunal a "farce."
Human Rights Watch has said the law under which the accused were being tried fell short of international standards of due process. It cited defense lawyers, witnesses and investigators as saying they had been threatened during the trial.
Hasina's party has denied allegations of bias.
Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, won independence with India's help in December 1971 following a nine-month war against Pakistan.
Azad, a former member of the Jamaat-e-Islami, was accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces in the murder of Hindus, a minority in the majority-Muslim state.
In one case, he was accused of killing at least 12 Hindus while shooting indiscriminately along with Pakistani soldiers.
"The verdict is given and I am very happy. The Bangladesh for which we fought, there were people who were against our liberation ... they were collaborators, they must be punished," said Aftab Ali, who fought in the independence war.
A former chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the country's top Islamist leader are also on trial on charges of helping the Pakistani army during the war.
The party has denied charges that it collaborated with the Pakistani army and has accused Hasina's government of concocting war crimes charges to try to undermine it.
More from South and Central Asia on NBCNews.com
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Kinda makes American televangelists ("Send me money.") appear benign by comparison.
No doubt bill. Listening to them scream "send those cards and letters to gawd, that's G - A - W - D, that's gawd, so that Tammy Faye can buy herself some new t!ts and a new industrial paint scraper" suddenly doesn't seem all that bad!
Don't worry: Christian evangelists have at least come to some 18th century if not 21st century.
Most of the Islamic clerics, scholars, and their cheap supporters are fast marching backwards to the barbaric and beastly seventh century desert days.
"Abul Kalam Azad, a former member of Bangladesh's biggest Islamist party, was found guilty of torture, rape and genocide during the war for independence from Pakistan in 1971."
In 1971, Paki army (a strategic ally) did massive genocides of Hindus, Buddhists, Bangladesh Muslims and those opposed to them in Bangladesh region. More than three million were killed in the genocide.
President Nixon sent his nuclear submarine to help Pakis and threaten India.
But he and his team could not prevent the surrender of more than 90000 soldiers to Indian army. Even in surrender the brave Pakis created a world record.
Humans have little shame. But many Pakis don't have shame either!
Has Islam turned them into a bunch of barbaric Islamic beasts?
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, UN and all its agencies, who are dance troopers for the oil rich Sunni rulers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, and other Sunni Arab League nations, oil companies and their lobbyists were shamelessly hiding as if they were dead.
The same partisan one-eyed Human Rights Watchs and co scream when a few women and children are killed in Syria.
The same cheap sold out gangsters take a microscope to look and use loud speakers to scream when oil rich Sunni rulers start their seventh century desert dances.
Iraq and Syria are classical recent examples.
Do those partisan gangsters have any morals, values and characters? Time has come to wind them all up!
Just two sides of the same coin...
Just confirming that no country in that region can stand Pakistan. Why not just take Pakistan's nuclear weapons away and let them all sort it out on a level playing field with India as the officiating crew.
If the US, Britain, France, Germany and many in West keep away from Pakistan unlike in the past, Pakistan will be in bloody sectarian and tribal civil wars.
It may be better for the US and allies, the current No. 1 of Paki Islamic militants, to carpet bomb the most Islamic militant and nuke areas.
I am quoting reaction of a son of a victim of the happenings in 1971 for reader's information:
" Maa, I can't control myself today, just silently shedding tears in a kind of feeling I have never ever experienced. I always felt ashamed and guilty as I could not save you that day in 1971 when a demon like Bangla speaking creature threw me off your lap and brutally kicked on your back and chest. I was terribly scared Maa, dreadfully helpless 7-year boy watching his mother and brother are brutally bashed and beaten by about 10 Pakis and two collaborators.
Maa, you did not survive that fatal and mental injury, died in 3 years time. And so was my brother few years later. I grew up with this trauma, left Bangladesh after 1976 when those collaborators were rehabilitated. Maa, you told me to never speak of this. I kept silent for decades. But please, today I feel slight a bit relieved of the rock-hard pains, Maa, I know you must forgive your son for this breach of promise."
We see Muslims inventing problems in most of the non-Muslim nations and many Muslim nations.
Even in the US, we can notice these actions!
For 9/11, Pakis and Saudis were responsible.
In the US, one Muslim from Bangladesh wanted to blow up Fed Reserve. He had come for studies and was hardly twenty! As per his family: "he is pious and he wanted to study."
Many Pakis including the Hadley have been involved in Islamic inspired terror attacks and terror plans have been too many.
When Muslims form more than five percent, downhill march starts.
Muslims are inventing problems in Myanmar, Thailand, Philippines, India and other places.
When they form more than 30 percent then it is Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Lebanon (few decades back)
In Muslim majority nations, they are doing genocides of minority Islamic sects like Shiites, Sufis, Ahmedias and other minority tribes.
In 47, the current Bangladesh portion had about 40 percent of Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and other minorities. Right now there are hardly ten of them remaining.
After ruining their Bangladesh, like Muslims from other nations, they have sneaked into India, Burma and other Asian non-Muslim nations.
India itself has about 30 million illegal Bangladesh Muslims. These Muslims are back to Muslim business of square one: raping, stealing, looting, rioting and killing! As they form a big voting block, some parties support them!!! Govt is scarred to touch them!
Similar things are going on in UK, France and many European nations.
If Saudi Arabia and many Muslim nations do not permit non-Islamic religious places and scriptures, Muslims have no right to have their mosques, hate preaching and killer training centers, in non-Muslim nations.
If non-Muslims can’t live in peace in Muslim nations, Muslims don’t have any right to live in our nations.
Just declare Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as terrorist nations.
Also change the requirement for immigration and stay in the US, Britain and other places. That is how commies were kept out at one time.
He fled to Pakistan!
Welcome to Pakistan all criminals & terrorists.We will not protect our poeople, but you will be protected. you are safe here.
Pakistan, a pure Islamic nation, is Godfather for all Islamic criminals, terrorists, rapists, looters, and those doing genocides.
I am really surprised that Mr.Serazul Quadir(Reuter) wrote this type of article??? how come that bastard bacchu razzakr was an Islamic Televangelist???? r u mad or out of your senses, if he is an Islamic then what is Islam???