Bangladesh rioting over court decision kills 42
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Jamaat-e-Islami activists march with sticks in the street during a clash with police in Thakurgaon, north-west from Dhaka on Feb 28, 2013. At least 42 have died in rioting sparked by a death sentence given to an Islamic political party leader convicted of crimes linked to Bangladesh's 1971 independence war, police said on Friday, March 1, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
DHAKA (AP) - At least 42 have died in rioting sparked by a death sentence given to an Islamic political party leader convicted of crimes linked to Bangladesh's 1971 independence war, police said on Friday.
Top Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee was sentenced on Thursday for mass killings, rape and atrocities committed during the bloody nine-month war against Pakistan.
Bangladesh was the eastern wing of Pakistan until it gained independence in 1971.
The verdict sent his supporters into the streets, where they clashed with police, attacked government offices and uprooted railway tracks in parts of the country. Protesters also set fire to dozens of houses belonging to pro-government supporters.
