Bangladesh, August 30: Bangladesh's highest court has rejected a final appeal by a senior Islamist leader, clearing the way for his execution for war crimes committed during the country's 1971 war for independence with Pakistan.

The decision against Mir Quasem Ali leaves an appeal for presidential clemency as the only barrier to a death sentence first handed down in 2014.

The 63-year-old Ali is a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party and was convicted on eight charges that included the abduction of a young man and his killing in a torture cell.

Follow Newsgram on Facebook

Bangladesh says local collaborators and Pakistani soldiers killed 3 million people during the fight for independence, which Jamaat-e-Islami opposed.

Several other Islamist leaders have already been executed for war crimes. Jamaat-e-Islami and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party have criticised the government's war crimes tribunal as politically motivated.

Follow Newsgram on Twitter

A group of U.N. human rights experts called last week for the high court to give Ali a new trial "in compliance with international standards."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry referenced human rights criticisms in Bangladesh in a speech Monday in Dhaka, saying "we have to uphold and not betray" democratic principles in the fight against extremism. (IANS)

ALSO READ:

• 1971 war crimes: Bangladesh tribunal sentences three to death for 1971 war crimes
• Will High Court restore the Secular status of Bangladesh?
• Pakistan Army attacks other communities and Nationalities, says Bangladesh Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu