Dhaka: The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) 2 on Wednesday awarded Mahidur Rahman and Afsar Hossain Chutu imprisonment till death for their crimes against humanity during the War of Independence in 1971.

A three-member tribunal panel headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan declared the verdict at about 11:30am on Wednesday.

Earlier on 22 April, ICT 2 kept pending its verdict to be delivered any day after closing arguments in the trial of the war crimes allegedly perpetrated by Mahidur and Afsar.

Hearing the law-point arguments from both the prosecution and the defence lawyers, Justice Obaidul Hasan passed the order.

Following the order, prosecutor Shahidur Rahman told reporters that the allegations brought against them have been proved beyond any reasonable doubt.

‘I expect the highest punishment, death penalty, for both the accused,’ he said.

Defence counsel Abdus Sattar said justice will be done through acquittal of the two elderly men.

On 11 December, 2014, ICT 2 indicted Mahidur and Afsar in the case for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.

The prosecution submitted three allegations against the two war crime suspects that include killing of 24 people after capturing 39 people, plundering and torching of around 80 houses, and killing of four people after abduction during the war.

The accused are now in custody in a case over bomb blast at the Shaheed Minar altar in Shibganj on 26 March this year.

Mahidur is a resident of village Dadanchak while Afsar is from village Satrashia in Shibganj of Chapainawabganj.

The accused, allegedly members of Razakar militia, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani occupation army, were arrested in a criminal case on 16 September, 2014, later the prosecution prayed to show them arrested in the war crimes case.