War crimes convict Alim dies
War criminal Abdul Alim, who was sentenced to imprisonment till death for his 1971 offences, died of cancer at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) this afternoon.
A former BNP minister, the 83-year-old breathed his last at 1:15pm at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of cardiovascular unit of the hospital in Dhaka, Brigadier General (rtd) Abdul Mazid Bhuiyan, the BSMMU director, told The Daily Star.
Alim was kept on life support on August 27. He has been suffering from lung cancer for the last six months.
The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on October 9 last year sentenced him to imprisonment till death for crimes against humanity and genocide during the 1971 Liberation War.
He sentenced to imprisonment until death on four charges. He was also awarded 20 years’ jail on four more charges and 10 years’ on another charge.
The former minister appealed to the Supreme Court (SC) against a tribunal verdict on November 7, 2013.
Alim was arrested in Joypurhat on March 27, 2011 for his wartime offences.
Born on November 1, 1930, in West Bengal of India, Alim with his family migrated to Joypurhat in 1950-51. In 1958, he joined the Muslim League.
He was an influential leader of the Convention Muslim League and Vice-Chairman of Bogra District Council in 1971.
After Ziaur Rahman took over the helm of the country, he made Alim a minister in 1978. Alim also joined Zia's then newly formed party the BNP, according to the information at the tribunal and defence documents. He was elected as a lawmaker from Joypurhat in 1979, 1996 and 2001 elections.
Comments