Click photo to enlarge DHAKA, Bangladesh—A Bangladeshi tribunal
prosecuting cases stemming from the 1971 independence war
sentenced a leader of an Islamic opposition party to life in
prison Tuesday, sparking street clashes with police that killed
two people and injured dozens more.  Opposition leaders have
criticized the war crimes trials, held 40 years after the
country won independence from Pakistan, as an effort to weaken
challengers to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government, and
human rights groups have raised concerns about their fairness.
In a packed courtroom at the High Court in Dhaka, Judge Obaidul
Hasan pronounced Abdul Quader Mollah guilty of killing a student
and a family of 11 and of aiding Pakistani troops in killing 369
others. Defense lawyer Abdur Razzaq said he will appeal the
verdict.  In anticipation of the verdict, Mollah's Jamaat-e-
Islami party had ordered a nationwide general strike to denounce
the trial, shutting down schools and shops and halting most
traffic in Dhaka.  Jamaat supp