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Bangladesh's Top Court Rejects Final Death Sentence Appeal By Islamist Leader


Bangladeshi police guards outside the war crimes tribunal as it heard a case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali in Dhaka (file photo).
Bangladeshi police guards outside the war crimes tribunal as it heard a case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali in Dhaka (file photo).

Bangladesh's top court has rejected a final appeal by the leader of an Islamist party against a death sentence for atrocities committed during the country's 1971 war for independence from Pakistan.

The August 30 ruling by a five-judge panel in the case against Mir Quasem Ali means the 63-year-old financier of the Jamaat-e Islami party could be hanged at any time unless he obtains clemency from the president.

Ali's lawyer, Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, said on August 30 that the Jamaat-e-Islami leader and his family have yet to decide whether to seek clemency.

The ruling against Ali comes amid a wave attacks by Islamic militants in Bangladesh.

The most deadly was on July 1, when gunmen stormed into a cafe in the capital, Dhaka, and killed 20 hostages.

Most of the slain victims were foreigners.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP

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