A leading official from the Bangladeshi Jamaat-e-Islami party has been executed, according to local media.
Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, the assistant general secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami, was executed on Saturday after choosing not to seek a presidential pardon.
Local online newspaper bdnews24 quoted Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia saying the execution was carried out at 10.01 p.m. in Dhaka Central Jail, World Bulletin reported.
Televised images from outside the jail have shown an ambulance entering the jail to receive Kamaruzzaman’s body.
Kamaruzzaman chose not to confess to committing war crimes, a condition for being granted mercy, after his petition for a trial review was rejected by the Supreme Court on Monday.
The tribunal has come under heavy criticism from opposition political parties and human rights organizations that claim the process was unfair and politically motivated.
Shortly before the execution on Saturday, the US State Department released a statement saying that while the tribunal’s procedures had improved, there were still improvements to be made to meet the obligations of international agreements.
Human Rights Watch, who have previously criticized the tribunal, had earlier called on Bangladesh’s government to stop the execution.
