A war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh on Sunday sentenced two expatriates- one living in the United States and the other in Britain- to death for the murder of 18 people, who were described as prominent intellectuals during, the country’s 1971 war of Independence from Pakistan.
Both defendants fled Bangladesh shortly after it gained independence from Pakistan. One of the men, Chowdury Mueen Uddin, settled in London, to become trustee for the charity Muslim Aid and a director of a National Health Service provision for Muslim Spiritual Care. The other man resettled in North America.
The verdict held the two responsible for killings that took place between December 5 and 10 in 1971. The verdict described the killings as “a premeditated and secret plan to exterminate the best and most notable intellectuals belonging to different professions. The intention was to paralyze the nation.”
The defendants have both rejected the verdict, and refused to travel back to Bangladesh to face trial.