9 May 2013 Last updated at 06:56 ET

Bangladesh war crimes trial: Key defendants

The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan in Dhaka profiles the key defendants being investigated by the tribunal in Bangladesh that is probing war crimes allegedly committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Ghulam Azam - verdict awaited

Mr Azam's supporters revere him as a scholar, but critics view him as a traitor

The former leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami is facing charges of crimes against humanity. Mr Azam, 90, was the party's leader until 2000. He has now retired from active politics.

The charges against him include genocide, murder, abduction and arson. He rejects all the allegations.

Mr Azam is alleged to have created and led pro-Pakistan militias which carried out numerous murders and rapes during the nine-month war.

Described by his party colleagues as a writer and Islamic thinker, Mr Azan was strongly opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan, arguing at the time that it would divide the Muslim community.

He also cautioned that an independent Bangladesh would come under the political and economic influence of neighbouring India.

Mr Azam's supporters say he is widely respected across the Muslim world. But his detractors - mainly in the governing Awami League party - see him as a traitor.

In 1973, the government cancelled his citizenship for allegedly co-operating with Pakistani forces during the independence war.

Mr Azam lived as an exile in Pakistan and the UK but returned to Bangladesh in 1978 when the country was led by Gen Ziaur Rahman - the assassinated husband of the country's current opposition leader Khaleda Zia.

The Supreme Court restored his citizenship in 1994. If convicted he could face death penalty.

Motiur Rahman Nizami - verdict awaited

Mr Nizami campaigned vociferously in 1971 against the independence of Bangladesh

The current Jamaat-e-Islami leader was born in 1943 and has been an active supporter of the party since he was a student.

At the time of the 1971 war, Mr Nizami was president of Islami Chhatra Sangha, then the party's student wing, and vociferously campaigned against the division of Pakistan.

He is accused of setting up the al-Badr group, an auxiliary force which helped the Pakistani army identify and kill pro-independence Bengali activists.

Mr Nizami, a Dhaka University graduate, has twice been elected to the Bangladeshi parliament, serving as a minister in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government from 2001-2006.

He is charged on 16 counts, including genocide, murder, arson and looting during the independence war.

Mr Nizami has described the accusations as "the worst falsehood in history".

His supporters consider him to have been a competent and honest minister and an authority on Islamic teaching. They say he is widely respected in the Muslim world. Mr Nizami has written about 20 books, mostly on Islam.

In 2009, he was judged to be among the top 50 most influential Muslims by an American Islamic think-tank.

Delwar Hossain Sayeedi - sentenced to death in February 2013

Mr Sayeedi has travelled to the US and Europe to give lectures on the Koran

A prolific speaker and a well-known leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the 72-year-old former MP was found guilty in February 2013 of charges including murder, torture and rape.

He is the most senior suspect to have been convicted so far.

Arrested in June 2010, he was the first suspect to be indicted by the tribunal in 2011.

State prosecutors accused him of working with the al-Badr group during the independence struggle and of carrying out numerous atrocities, including forcibly converting Hindus to Islam.

His critics say that during the war he formed a small group to loot and seize the property of Bengali Hindus and those who supported independence.

He denied all the allegations and after he was convicted there were widespread protests across Dhaka.

Mr Sayeedi's supporters say that - like many of his co-accused - he is an Islamic scholar and a conscientious member of various social organisations.

He has travelled to the US and Europe to give lectures on the Koran and has written books on interpreting Islam.

Some British MPs opposed his visit to the UK in 2006 because of his alleged extreme views, particularly his comments against the US and British role in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid - verdict awaited

Mr Mujahid went into hiding immediately after independence

Mr Mujahid, 64, is the secretary-general of the Jamaat-e-Islami and an influential figure within the party.

He is highly regarded for his organisational skills and oratory.

The social welfare minister in the BNP-led government from 2001-2006, he was a student leader in 1971 and among those who supported a unified Pakistan.

His critics say he was also an al-Badr leader responsible for the killings of a number of pro-independence Bangladeshi leaders and intellectuals.

The tribunal has indicted him on eight charges including crimes against humanity. But he strongly denies the allegations.

Like many other Jamaat leaders he went into hiding soon after independence, but resurfaced after Gen Ziaur Rahman came to power in a military coup in 1977.

His supporters say his trial is nothing but a political vendetta by the ruling Awami League.

They also say he was a successful minister known for his honesty and integrity.

Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury - verdict awaited

Mr Chowdhury is accused of genocide and persecution

A former minister, Mr Chowdhury is a BNP MP and the most senior leader from the party to face charges of crimes against humanity.

Better known as Saqa, he is the eldest son of the late Muslim League and Chittagong-based leader Fazlul Quader Chowdhury and a member of the BNP's main policymaking body.

His father was the Speaker of the National Assembly of undivided Pakistan in 1965 and campaigned for a united Pakistan.

The tribunal has framed 20 charges against Mr Chowdhury, including genocide, persecuting people on religious and political grounds, abduction and committing atrocities against Hindus.

He is also accused of forcefully converting a number of Hindus to Islam.

The prosecution says his father's residence in Chittagong was turned into a torture cell during the war. Mr Chowdhury has denied all the charges and the BNP - which did not exist at the time of the war - has described his trial as nothing but a political vendetta.

His family alleges that he has been tortured while in custody and that his health has deteriorated since he was jailed. The authorities have rejected the allegations.

Muhammad Kamaruzzaman - sentenced to death May 2013

Mr Kamaruzzaman's lawyers insist that he has not received a fair trail

The assistant secretary-general of Jamaat-e-Islami was found guilty in May 2013 of masterminding what the prosecution described as one of the bloodiest single episodes in the independence war.

The war crimes tribunal heard that he played a prominent role alongside Pakistani troops in the "slaughter" of at least 120 unarmed farmers in the remote northern village of Sohagpur which subsequently became known as the "village of widows".

Three women widowed as a result of the killings testified against Mr Kamaruzzaman during his trial. They described how he led Pakistani troops to the village and helped the soldiers to line up and execute the farmers.

Mr Kamaruzzaman was found guilty in five out of seven charges of crimes against humanity, including the murder and torture of unarmed civilians. His lawyers insisted that he had not received a fair trial. He has been sentenced to death.

Working as a journalist after independence, Mr Kamaruzzaman tried on several occasions to become an MP but was unsuccessful in each attempt.