The leader of Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami party has been convicted of crimes against humanity by a war crimes tribunal in Dhaka.
Abdul Kader Mullah was found guilty of five charges, including murder, committed while collaborating with Pakistani forces during Bangladesh’s war of independence.
He was accused of being responsible for several large massacres in the Mirpur district of the capital, earning him the nickname “koshai” or butcher of Mirpur.
Mullah denied all charges and party leaders said the charges are politically motivated.
"We are but forced to accept the verdict. However, we will surely appeal to the Supreme Court against the judgement," his lawyer Abdur Razzaq told BBC Bengali on Monday.
"Although the prosecution says that guilt has been proved, I consider this to be a perverse judgement. The prosecution has failed to prove any charge."
The Bangladeshi government put the figure of deaths during the war at over 3 million people.
