BANGLADESH: 2 MORE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN 1971 WAR CRIMES

February 2, 2016: A special war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced two more men to death after finding them guilty of killing, kidnapping and looting during the country's independence war against Pakistan in 1971.
The three-judge panel in Dhaka, the capital, ruled that Obaidul Haque Taher and Ataur Rahman Noni were involved in the deaths of seven people. Prosecutors said they helped Pakistani soldiers attack a village in Netrokona district on Oct. 19, 1971. The men pleaded not guilty.
Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed 3 million people and raped more than 200,000 women during the nine-month war in 1971 that led to the creation of Bangladesh. Previously it was the eastern wing of Pakistan.
The tribunal was established by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2010. Since then it has convicted 25 people, sentencing 21 of them to death.
Four people, including three leaders of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party, have been hanged. The party had campaigned against independence and formed militia groups to help Pakistani soldiers.  (Sources: AP, 02/02/2016)