Ghulam Azam, the 91-year-old head of an Islamic party in Bangladesh , was sentenced to 90 years in prison Monday for crimes against humanity during the country's independence war in 1971.
A special tribunal of three judges, who announced the sentence, said that the former leader of Jamaat-e-Islami party was given a jail sentence instead of capital punishment because of his poor health and advanced age, according to the Associated Press.
He was found guilty of 61 charges including torture and murder during the country's war with Pakistan.
The announcement triggered mass demonstrations. The pro-Azam demonstrators said it was politically motivated while opponents wanted the former Islamic leader to be executed.
At least six people were killed in protests triggered by the ruling on Monday.
During the independence war, the Pakistani army killed three million people and raped 200,000 women, according to the Bangladeshi government.
Azam who led the party till 2000, was accused of forming citizens' brigades to commit genocide and other serious crimes against the pro-independence fighters during the war in 1971.
Ghulam Azam was one of the eminent leaders that opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan and is still considered a spiritual leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.
