In the photo, namaz-e-janaza of Ghulam Azam is being held at the Baitul Mokarram mosque Saturday amid protests from different quarters over taking the body of the high profile war criminal to the national mosque. Photo: Rashed Suman

Jamaat-e-Islami guru Ghulam Azam was buried at their family graveyard at Moghbazar this afternoon.

Earlier in the afternoon, his namaz-e-janaza was held at the Baitul Mokarram mosque amid protests from different quarters over taking the body of the high profile war criminal to the national mosque.

Hundreds of leaders and activists of Jamaat and its associate bodies joined the post-Zohr prayers of the former Jamaat chief .

Azam, who received 90-years' imprisonment for masterminding war crimes during Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War, was buried beside his father's grave at their family graveyard as per his last wish.

At hospital since his arrest on January 11, 2012, the 92-year-old fell critically ill Thursday and died at 10:10pm the same day at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University hospital.

This Star file photo shows law enforcers taking former jamaat ameer Ghulam Azam to a court in Dhaka.

On July 15 last year, a special war crimes tribunal spared him death sentence considering his age and awarded the 90-year jail term finding him guilty on five counts including conspiracy, planning, incitement, and complicity in crimes against humanity and genocide and murders during the war.

Our correspondents covering the event said leaders and activists of Jamaat, Islami Chhatra Shibir and other associate bodies started thronging Baitul Mokarram hours before the azan (call) of Zohr was heralded.
A white ambulance of carrying Azam's body left his house at Moghbazar around the noon and was soon joined by scores of Jamaat-Shibir men who were waiting on both the sides of the road.
Security has been beefed up in the area so that no untoward incident can take place centring the janaza.

SON CONDUCTS JANAZA

Ghulam Azam's son Abdullahil Aman Azmi conducted the namaj-e-janaza.

His father had expressed a wish that his namaz-e-janaza be conducted by his party colleague Motiur Rahman Nizami or Delawar Hossain Sayedee, both of whom stand trial for war crimes. Sayedee has been serving life sentence while the International Crimes Tribunal has completed Nizami's trial and is now waiting to pronounce its verdict.

Considering that "the wish is unrealistic", the family is decided not to seek Sayedee and Nizami's parole which is required for convicts or persons awaiting trial to come out of jail for certain period of time.

PROTEST AGAINST JANAZA
AT BAITUL MOKARRAM

The vehicle is carrying the body of Ghulam Azam to the Baitul Mokarram mosque for namaz-e-janaza Saturday. Photo: Amran Hossain

As the Jamaat men were gathering at Baitul Mokarram mosque for the janaza, two crude bombs were exploded near it around 11:30am.
"The janaza of a war criminal can never be held at the national mosque," Ziaul Hasan, chairman of Bangladesh Sommilito Islami Jote, an alliance of Islamic parties, said at a human chain programme at Jatiya Press Club organised to protest the janaza there.
Meanwhile, police resisted a group of 10 to 15 activists of Islami Oikyo Jote at Paltan crossing when they started towards Baitul Mokaram in procession protesting the janaza at the national mosque.
Blogger online activist and Bangladesh Chhatra Moitree also took position near Paltan police outpost.