Bangladesh hangs Islamist leader for war crimes

Nizami was hanged at Dhaka Central jail at 8pm CET on Tuesday after the Supreme Court rejected his final plea against a death sentence imposed by a special tribunal for genocide, rape and orchestrating the massacre of top intellectuals during the 1971 war of independence when Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan.

Thousands of extra police and border guards were deployed in Dhaka and other major cities to tighten security as previous similar judgments and executions have triggered violence that killed around 200 people, mainly Jamaat activists and police.

Hundreds of people flooded the streets of the capital, Dhaka, to cheer the executions.

Five opposition politicians, including four Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, have been executed since late 2013 after being convicted by the tribunal.

The party still denies that its leaders committed any atrocities.