Moazzem Hossain, the chief judge hearing the case, said in the capital Dhaka on Thursday, “It (Jamaat) is hereby declared illegal.”
Shahdeen Malik, a lawyer for the Bangladeshi election commission, also said that the verdict will ban Jamaat-e-Islami from running for the January elections.
“As a party Jamaat’s registration with the election commission is declared illegal, with the consequence that they cannot contest the election as a political party,” Malik stated.
“The party can still carry on with other political activities. If it amends its charter, to bring it in conformity with the constitution and reapplies for registration, it can be re-registered.”
Security forces have been deployed outside the court in Dhaka over fears that Jamaat supporters would hold protests.
The court ruling came two weeks after Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced to death a top leader of Jamaat-e-Islami for his role in mass killings during the country’s 1971 independence war.
The death penalty was handed down to Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, who is secretary general of the party, in Dhaka on July 17.
Mojaheed has denied the charges, which his supporters say are politically motivated.
Ahead of the ICT verdict, clashes erupted between police forces and supporters of Mojaheed.
Earlier this month, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced the party’s 90-year-old former leader, Ghulam Azam, to 90 years in prison.
Several human rights groups and organizations say the tribunal that tried Mojaheed did not observe international standards.
The special tribunal has already issued several verdicts against the Jamaat members, including death sentences for the party’s vice president and a former member.
The Bangladeshi opposition groups accuse the government of seeking to intimidate them by putting on trial their leaders for alleged war crimes committed more than 40 years ago.
Previous verdicts have sparked widespread violence across Bangladesh. Around 150 people have been killed in recent unrest.
The mainstream opposition group, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and several Islamic groups have staged several nationwide strikes to condemn the mass killing of protesters in a crackdown by security forces over the past few months.
DB/HSN
Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/01/316662/bangladesh-declares-top-party-illegal/
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