Bangladesh war crimes trials begin

The trial for Delawar Hossain Sayedee, for alleged crimes against humanity during Bangladesh's struggle for independence from Pakistan, began in Dhaka. Sayedee, a leader in Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami party, is the first of seven suspects to stand trial on charges related to the 1971 war, the BBC reported. The seven Bangladeshi suspects are accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces, who were trying to prevent Bangladesh from becoming an independent nation. Bangladeshi Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the country has been waiting 40 years for the trials to come to court. "We lost many professors, teachers, musicians -- the bright sons of our country at the time of the liberation movement," he said. "So it was our moral duty, our constitutional responsibility to try these offenders." During the war, more than 3 million people were killed and many were left homeless, official figures show. Human-rights groups have urged the government to carry out the trials in accordance with international standards. Bangladeshi officials said the country's law and legal structure are capable of handling the trials. Sayedee, who denies the charges against him, was arrested last year during an investigation of the 1971 war in Dhaka. His charges include genocide, rape and religious persecution.