DHAKA: A Bangladesh court sentenced five men to death in absentia for atrocities perpetrated during the war in 1971, prosecutors said on Thursday.

A special court said the fugitives were found guilty of serial abuses during the war. Critics say the so-called International Crimes Tribunal, which has no international oversight, is politically motivated and used to target the opposition.

“They were charged with murder, abduction, looting, arson and rape in Netrokona in 1971,” prosecutor M.R. Badol said. Prosecutors said the four accused were connected to Jamaat-i-Islami, the largest Islamist party in Bangladesh and one allied to the country’s main opposition party.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2019