Hasan Jamil, foreground right, son of Abdul Quader Mollah, leader of the country's largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami, sits with other family members in a car as they arrive to meet Mollah at the Central Jail in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013. Bangladesh's Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for the execution of the opposition leader convicted of war crimes, rejecting a last-minute appeal in a case that threatens to spark fresh violence ahead of national elections next month. Mollah, 65, was convicted of war crimes committed during the nation's war of independence against Pakistan in 1971. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)
December 12, 2013 - 10:18 PM
DHAKA, Bangladesh - The execution of an Islamist opposition leader in Bangladesh has sparked violent protests.
TV stations reported Friday that activists torched many homes and shops belonging to minority Hindus, who are generally believed to be supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The opposition leader, Abdul Quader Mollah, was hanged Thursday night for war crimes committed during Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971. His brother, Mainuddin Mollah, said he was buried early Friday in his ancestral home of Faridpur.
Mollah had a key role in Jamaat-e-Islami, an ally of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
The case has exposed the explosive political tensions in Bangladesh between the ruling party and the opposition ahead of national elections next month.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013