A Muslim leader living in London has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of war crimes in his native Bangladesh.
Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, who was involved in setting up the Muslim Council of Britain, was sentenced in his absence at a special war crimes tribunal in his home country.
Toby Cadman, Mr Mueen-Uddin's Legal Counsel, described the verdict as "farcical".
He said in a statement: "The trial process has been shown to be nothing short of a political show trial.
"What is clear from a number of damning disclosures by the international community and the media is the overwhelming evidence that reveals serious judicial and prosecutorial misconduct and the collusion of the Government with members of the judiciary and prosecution.
"I am not at all surprised by the verdict that has been passed ... by an institution that has lost all credibility.
"We reject each and every charge levelled against Mr Mueen-Uddin."
Before the sentence was handed down, Mr Mueen-Uddin said on his website that although he opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan at the time, he was not involved in any crimes.
Alongside New York-based Ashrafuzzaman Khan he was found guilty of abducting and murdering 18 people in December 1971, during the country's fight for independence against Pakistan.
The dead included nine university teachers, six journalists and three physicians.
Senior judge Obaidul Hassan told the packed court in Dhaka: "Justice will not be done if they are not awarded capital punishment."
Prosecutors accused the pair, who fled Bangladesh after it gained independence from Pakistan, of being "high command" members of the notorious Al Badr militia that supported Pakistani forces during the war.
Tribunal-appointed lawyers for them denied the charges against them. No defence witnesses were called during the trial held earlier this year.
The tribunal has now convicted 10 people, mostly leaders of the country's largest Islamic party the Jamaat-e-Islami, for war crimes, with seven of them sentenced to death by hanging. At least another eight are on trial.
The trials have sparked protests throughout the Muslim-majority country, leaving at least 150 people dead since January when the court started handing down their verdicts.
Jamaat claims the trials are politically motivated and accuses the secular government of trying to execute its entire leadership.
The government says the trials are needed to heal the wounds of the conflict.
Mr Mueen-Uddin, who came to the UK in 1973, has held positions in a host of top Islamic organisations, among them the Muslim Council of Britain - the country's largest umbrella group representing Muslims.
The Home Office was unable to confirm if an extradition request had been made for Mr Mueen-Uddin who holds dual UK and Bangladesh citizenship.
A spokesman said: "As a matter of long standing policy and practice the UK will neither confirm nor deny whether an extradition request has been made or received until such time as a person is arrested in relation to that request."
It is, however, convention that the UK does not extradite to countries that have the death penalty.
Forensic staff have been examining the scene. 
Mourners brought flowers to pay their respects to the girls. 
