The War Crime Tribunal, which is set to pronounce its verdict on the wartime criminal offences against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, started reading out the summary of the judgement Thursday morning.
Our correspondent reports, out of seven charges, five have already been proved.
The written verdict comprises 215 pages and 651 paragraphs.
Earlier, Justice M Shahinur Islam of International Crime Tribunal (ICT-2) started reading out the 62-page précis of the verdict at about 11:20am in the tribunal court.
Justice Md Mojibur Rahman Miah will read part of the verdict after him while ICT 2 Chairman Obaidul Hasan will wrap up the pronouncement session by reading out the last portion.
Earlier, the accused Jamaat leader was taken to the tribunal by a prison van around 9:30am amid tight security.
Chief prosecutor Ghulam Arif Tipu told reporters he hoped Kamaruzzaman would be given the highest punishment.
The authorities moved Kamaruzzaman to Dhaka central jail from Kashimpur jail to produce him before the tribunal on Wednesday.
This will be the ICT's fourth verdict and the third by the second tribunal.
The first tribunal was instituted in 2009, soon after the Awami League came to power; the second was set up in 2012 to speed up the trial process.
The ICT 2 has so far given verdicts against two war crime suspects – Abul Kalam Azad and Abdul Quader Mollah – while the ICT 1 sentenced Delwar Hossain Sayedee for crimes against humanity.
All of the accused are facing trial under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act of 1973.
Kamaruzzaman is facing seven charges of crimes against humanity committed in 1971. The charges include direct involvement of the Jamaat leader in rape, murder and aiding the Pakistani army during the Liberation War.
On June 4, 2012, the second tribunal of Justices ATM Fazle Kabir and Obaidul Hassan and Judge Shahinur Islam indicted Kamaruzzaman on seven counts including murder, torture, conspiracy, planning, incitement and complicity in atrocities committed in 1971.
According to the prosecution, Kamaruzzaman was a top leader of Al-Badr, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani army, a leader of the Islami Chhatra Sangha in 1971.
He formed Al-Badr in Mymensingh and Sherpur with Chhatra Sangha men.
Kamaruzzaman was arrested on July 29, 2010 and his trial began in the second tribunal on July 2, 2012.
The prosecution presented 18 witnesses. The tribunal limited the number of defence witness to five after the defence lawyers submitted a list of 1,354 witnesses to testify for him.
On April 16, after hearing of both prosecution and defence, tribunal 2 reserved judgement.
Kamaruzzaman, born in Sherpur in July 1952, was the president of greater Mymensingh unit of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat during the Liberation War, according to the prosecution.
On July 29, 2010, Kamaruzzaman was arrested in a case of hurting religious sentiment and was shown arrested in the war crimes case on October 2, 2010.
The prosecution closed its arguments in the case from March 24 to March 31 while the defence did so from April 1 to April 15.
