Bangladesh hangs Islamist leader Mir Quasem Ali(63)for murder and torture during 1971 war of independence

Mir Quasem Ali(63),a top Islamist party leader convicted of war crimes involving Bangladesh's 1971 independence war against Pakistan has been executed.  

Mir Quasem Ali(63) a key financier of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was killed at Kashimpur Central Jail on the outskirts of the capital, for murder, confinement, torture and incitement to religious hatred during the war. 

The execution took place amid a spate of militant attacks in the Muslim-majority nation, the most serious on July 1,2016 when gunmen stormed a cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter and killed 20 hostages, most of them foreigners.

The war crimes tribunal set up by prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2010 has sparked violence and drawn criticism from opposition politicians, who say it is targeting her political foes. The government denies the accusations.

Human rights groups say the tribunal's procedures fall short of international standards, but the government rejects that assertion, and the trials are supported by many Bangladeshis.

Since December 2013, five Jamaat leaders, including former top leader Motiur Rahman Nizami, and a leader of the main opposition party, have been executed for war crimes