People of Mathbaria, Ganajagaran Mancha demand death penalty

The Ganajagaran Mancha and residents of Pirojpur's Mathbaria have expressed their frustration over the first war crimes tribunal's decision to hand fugitive Jatiya Party leader Abdul Jabbar a life-term sentence for atrocities committed during the War of Liberation, reports bdnews24.com.

Imran H Sarkar, spokesperson of the mass platform demanding maximum penalty for war criminals, said on Tuesday, "He was found guilty of all charges against him, but the notorious war criminal from Mathbaria was handed a life-term sentence considering his age.

"The court should have sentenced him for his atrocities irrespective of his age. So we are urging the court to re-evaluate the verdict."

The forum took out a procession from the National Museum at Shahbagh soon after the verdict was announced.

Residents of Shapleja Union of Pirojpur's Mathbaria, where Abdul Jabbar hails from, have also expressed dismay over the verdict.

The verdict had detailed how the former Muslim League leader collaborated with the Pakistan occupation army and carried out murders, genocide, loot, arson, forced Hindus to convert to Islam and forced many of them to leave the country from Mathbarhia during the Liberation War.

Samir Kumar Das Bacchu, the district's Freedom Fighter commander, said Jabbar's being spared the death sentence was disheartening.

"Nobody can readily accept the verdict. The tortured and affected families of Mathbaria are devastated."

Son of martyr Surendra Nath Mitra, Sanjib Mitra told the news agency: "We are not happy with this verdict. We wanted the death penalty."