- DHAKA, Bangladesh: A Bangladesh tribunal has rejected bail pleas by four leaders of the country’s largest Islamic party accused of war crimes during the nation’s 1971 independence war.
The ruling Thursday by the International Crimes Tribunal means the four leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, who were arrested last year, will remain in jail until the investigation is complete.
The party sided with Pakistan as it tried to prevent Bangladesh from breaking away in the 1971 war. Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed an estimated 3 million people and forced millions to flee their homes.
The suspects face charges such as genocide, murder, rape, torture, looting and arson.
The party says the charges are politically motivated.