In a legal process spanning nearly five years, Jamaat-e-Islami's secretary general and former minister Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed has been handed the death penalty. It is a confirmation of the death sentence that ICT-2 served on him in 2013. For the surviving family members of intellectuals and professionals who were brutally murdered as part of the well-orchestrated killing orgy carried out near the end of the Liberation War by the cohorts of the Pakistani army, the verdict comes as much welcome news. Mojaheed, as head of Al-Badr, the much-hated death squad, planned and carried out abduction, torture and execution of some of the best minds of the land. 

We laud the ongoing process of trial of bringing to justice those who took part in the genocide of 1971. They not only went against our war of independence but also carried out the heinous crime of bleeding the nation of its intellectual wealth. 

The 24-hour hartal called to protest the Supreme Court verdict merely goes to show that the party Mojaheed represented remains unabashed for its crimes against humanity and an affront to all freedom loving Bangladeshis. It is highly ironic that while Jamaat is taking part in the court proceedings, they should be reacting so aggressively against its verdict. The verdict given reflects the sentiment of the people and we expect remorse, not violence from the guilty party.