Bangladesh Islamist appeal dismissed

The Supreme Court in Bangladesh has upheld the death sentence of an Islamist opposition leader found guilty of crimes against humanity during the country's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Abdul Kader Mullah, a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was given a stay of execution on Tuesday, just hours before he was due to be hanged, while judges heard a last-minute appeal.

Outside the court, a prosecutor for the International War Crime Tribunal of Bangladesh, Saiful Islam, confirmed that the appeal had been rejected.