Bangladesh court sentences opposition official to death for war crimes committed in 1971

DHAKA, Bangladesh – A special Bangladesh tribunal has sentenced an opposition politician to death for his role in killing people and other crimes during the nation's 1971 independence war against Pakistan.

M.A. Zahid Hossain Khokon, of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is a fugitive and believed to be in Sweden with his son and daughter.

He was convicted of leading the killings of people, looting and arson attacks during the war.

Bangladesh blames Pakistani soldiers and local collaborators for the deaths of 3 million people during the nine-month war. An estimated 200,000 women were raped and about 10 million people were forced to take shelter in refugee camps in neighboring India.

Head judge of a three-member panel A.T.M. Fazle Rabbi said the tribunal found him guilty of 10 of 11 charges he faced.