DHAKA: Bangladesh hanged Jamaat-i-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami on Wednesday for alleged war crimes committed during the 1971 war of independence, the law minister said, in a move that could draw an angry reaction from his supporters.

Nizami was hanged at Dhaka Central jail after the Supreme Court rejected his final plea against a death sentence imposed by a special tribunal for genocide, rape and orchestrating the massacre of top intellectuals during the war.

Nizami, 73, a former legislator and minister, was hanged at 12.01am local time, Law Minister Anisul Haq said.

Thousands of extra police and border guards were deployed in Dhaka and other major cities to tighten security.

Officials formally read the verdict to Nizami on Monday night after he was brought to Dhaka Central Jail from a prison outside the capital.

Nizami’s lawyer said last week that he would not seek any pardon as it would require him to admit crimes he was convicted of, including mass murder, rape and orchestrating the killing of secular intellectuals during the 1971 war of independence.

Three senior Jamaat officials and a leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have been executed since Dec 2013 for war crimes despite global criticism of their trials. All were hanged at the jail.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2016