Nizami to die for war crimes

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 on Wednesday awarded death penalty to Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami in four charges of crimes against humanity he committed during Bangladesh’s independence struggles in 1971. Five minutes after Nizami was produced before the court, presiding judge M Enayetur Rahim took to the dais at 11:05am to deliver the verdict that was deferred once four months ago. Rahim, chairman of the 3-member panel of judges of the ICT-1, delivered an introductory speech for five minutes. Later, Justice Anwarul Haque explained the 16 charges levelled against Nizami, 71, also the former industries minister. After he completed, the other judge of the panel, Justice Jahangir Hossain, started reading out summary of the 204-page judgment. He said Nizami will have to walk the gallows for the crimes he committed against humanity during the Liberation War. Nizami, however, has already been given capital punishment in January this year in the 2004 Chittagong 10-truck arms haul case, according to private TV channels.