Bangladesh executes Islamist leader Abdul Kader Mullah

Bangladesh has executed the Islamist leader Abdul Kader Mullah, who was convicted of atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence with Pakistan.  

He is the first person convicted by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) to be executed.  
The Tribunal was set up in 2010 to investigate abuses committed during the 1971 conflict.   

Mullah was a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party. At his trial earlier this year, he was described by prosecutors as the "Butcher of Mirpur", a suburb of  Dhaka where he is alleged to have carried out his crimes. These included the massacre of  unarmed civilians and the killing of  intellectuals who supported independence from Pakistan. Mullah always denied the charges. 

Four other leading figures in Jamaat-e-Islami have also been convicted by the ICT and face the death penalty as well.