<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">A court today sentenced the death penalty to Khalilur Rahman of Durgapur, Netrakona for his crimes against humanity including murder and genocide during the Liberation War in 1971.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A three-member judicial panel, led by International Crimes Tribunal chairman Justice Md Shahinur Islam, handed down the verdict this morning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Khalilur, a fugitive, faced five charges of war crimes, including the murders of 22 people and the rape of a woman. He was found guilty on all charges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tribunal handed down the death penalty on four charges and 10 years' imprisonment on the other. Rana Dasgupta and Rezia Sultana Chaman conducted the prosecution while state-appointed lawyer Gazi MH Tamim represented the accused.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After hearing the arguments of both sides, the case was put on hold for further deliberation pending judgment on Jul 18.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The investigation report in the case was filed on Jan 30, 2017. At the time, there were five accused, but one of them, Ramzan Ali, died during treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The three other suspects were Khalilur's brother Azizur Rahman, Ashok Ali, and Md Shahnewaz. The trial commenced after the court framed charges against them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While Khalilur was on the run, the three others died in prison at various points of the trial proceedings. As a result, Khalilur was the only one to face judgment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The remaining charges include attempted rape, abduction and torture, and looting and arson in Durgapur and Kalmakanda.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>