A war crimes tribunal is reading out the verdict in the war crimes case against fugitive BNP leader MA Zahid Hossain Khokon Alias Khokon Razakar for his alleged crimes committed against humanity in 1971 Liberation War.
International Crimes Tribnal 1 Justice Anwarul Haque started reading the verdict around 11am on Thursday.
The tribunal led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim, will pronounce the verdict.
On Wednesday, the tribunal 1 set the date to deliver the verdict.
A tight security has been taken in and around the tribunal. Law enforcers have been kept alert to tackle any kind of untoward incident over the verdict.
According to the prosecution, Khokon led the Razakar Bahini, an auxiliary force of the Pakistan army, in the Faridpur district in 1971.
The 70-year-old faces 11 charges, including genocide, torture, abduction, rape and confinement.
He was also involved in forced conversion of Hindus, torching houses and temples and deporting seven people.
As vice-president of the Nagarkanda unit of BNP, Khokon won the municipality election in 2011 to become mayor.
He went into hiding after taking oath, and the investigation agency assumes that he is now in Sweden with his son and daughter.
On July 18 last year, the ICT-1 accepted the 11 charges and issued an arrest warrant against him. Khokon was indicted in absentia on October 9 last year.
During the proceedings, the prosecution called 24 witnesses against Khokon, while none were produced for the fugitive accused.
On April 17 this year, after both prosecution and defence finished placing their arguments, the tribunal kept the case as Curia Advisari Vult (CAV), meaning “verdict would bedelivered later.”
According to the investigation agency, Khokon was a close associate of death row fugitive war criminal Abul Kalam Azad and took part in electioneering on behalf of a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate in 1970. He was involved with the Jamaat and later joined the BNP.