Dhaka: International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) handed down death penalty to two war criminals of Kishoreganj—Mohammad Hossain, and Moslem Pradhan—for their crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation in 1971.

A two‐member special tribunal bench led by Justice Anwarul Haque announced the verdict on Wednesday morning.

Earlier, on 18 April, the tribunal bench fixed Wednesday after concluding hearing arguments in the case.

The convicts, Syed Mohammad Hussain alias Hossain, in his sixties, and Muhammad Moslem Pradhan, around 65 years, are residents of Nikli upazila of the district. However of them, Hussain is absconding.

On 7 March, the tribunal kept the case waiting for verdict after prosecution and defence counsels completed their closing arguments.

Earlier, on December 3 in 2015, the prosecution at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) submitted formal charge of war crimes and violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949 against the two.

On 7 July of the same year, now defunct ICT‐2 issued arrest warrant against them.

Police arrested Moslem the next day from his home in village Kamarhati of the upazila.

Hossain is the younger brother of death‐row‐convict Syed Mohammad Hassan alias Hachen Ali, who was sentenced to death in his absence by the ICT‐1 for his heinous crimes against humanity in 1971.