Bangladesh court commutes top JI leader’s death sentence

DHAKA: Bangladesh´s highest court on Wednesday commuted the death sentence on a top Jamaat-e-Islami leader, triggering clashes between police and secular protesters who slammed the decision as too lenient.

In a surprise ruling, the Supreme Court said 74-year-old Delwar Hossain Sayedee should spend "the rest of his natural life" in jail for crimes during the 1971 liberation war with Pakistan.

Sayedee´s death penalty passed last year by a war-crimes tribunal triggered the deadliest political violence in the country´s history, and thousands of police were deployed before Wednesday´s ruling.

"We had expected that the court would uphold his death sentence," Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told, adding he was unhappy with the verdict.

Alam said Sayedee was a notorious war criminal and "torturer of women" who had forcibly converted Hindus to Islam during the nine-month war, which led to the creation of Bangladesh from the former East Pakistan.

Although the ruling was likely to appease hardliner blamed for last year´s deadly clashes, violence erupted on Wednesday between police and hundreds of angry protesters.

Police fired tear gas and a water cannon at demonstrators who had converged on Dhaka University.

Armed with batons, police tried to disperse the protesters who shouted slogans and hurled stones at officers.- Popular preacher -Sayedee was vice-president of Jamaat-e-Islami, the country´s largest Islamist party, and a popular preacher when he was found guilty in February last year. Many supporters claimed to have seen his face on the moon in a mark of his "saintly" status.

His conviction on eight charges of murder, rape and persecution of Hindus sparked riots by tens of thousands of supporters nationwide, leaving more than 100 people dead. Sayedee´s lawyer said he was dissatisfied with the latest ruling, adding his client should have been acquitted on all charges. "The evidence against him does not warrant conviction or sentencing even for a day," lawyer Tajul Islam told.

Sayedee is among about a dozen Islamic leaders to have been convicted by the much-criticised war crimes tribunal set up by the secular government to investigate atrocities during the 1971 conflict.