A former Bangladeshi Islamist party leader, whose imprisonment on war crimes charges triggered violent protests last year, has died of a heart attack in a prison cell of a government hospital. Ghulam Azam, 91, died late Thursday after life support was removed at the Bangabandhu Sehikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka, said hospital spokesman Abdul Majid Bhuiyan.
A special tribunal last year sentenced Azam, a former chief of Jamaat-e-Islami party, to 90 years in prison on 61 charges of war crimes during the Bangladesh 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Azam led Jamaat-e-Islami, in what was then East Pakistan. Azam led the party until 2000, and was still considered to be its spiritual leader. Jamaat-e-Islami claims his trial was politically motivated, which authorities deny. Azam’s supporters clashed with police after the verdict was announced last July.
A special tribunal last year sentenced Azam, a former chief of Jamaat-e-Islami party, to 90 years in prison on 61 charges of war crimes during the Bangladesh 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Azam led Jamaat-e-Islami, in what was then East Pakistan. Azam led the party until 2000, and was still considered to be its spiritual leader. Jamaat-e-Islami claims his trial was politically motivated, which authorities deny. Azam’s supporters clashed with police after the verdict was announced last July.