Abdus Sobhan

Maulana Muhammad Abdus Sobhan (; 19 February 1936 – 14 February 2020) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was a Senior Nayeeb-e-Ameer central committee of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. He was a two term parliamentarian from the Pabna-5 constituency, elected in 1991 and 2001. He went to trial for his relationship with war crimes allegedly committed during the War of Liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

Early life and education Abdus Sobhan was born on 19 February 1936 He enrolled at the Ramchandrapur Maktab. Then he completed his primary education in Manikhaat and Machpara Primary School. In 1941, he enrolled into Ulat Madrassah and studied there till 1947, completing his matriculation. In 1950, he obtained his alim certification. In 1952, he obtained his fazil degree from Sirajganj Alia Madrassah. In 1954, he obtained his kamil degree with distinction from the same madrassah, obtaining 7th position in the first division in the madrassah board. In 2001, he was again elected as a member of parliament from the Pabna-5 constituency as a candidate of the 4-party alliance, securing 56.78% of the votes in his constituency. In 1996, he campaigned on a platform to increase women's education—in a separate environment from men.

Arrest and trial

Abdus Sobhan was arrested on 20 September 2012 from Bangabandhu Bridge area while he was traveling from Dhaka to Pabna. Later, he was taken to Pabna to appear before the court that issued the warrant against him in connection with a case filed in 2003.

A day after his arrest he appeared before the International Crimes Tribunal (Bangladesh) in Dhaka on charges of crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT) framed nine charges of wartime offences against Abdus Sobhan for alleged crimes against humanity in 1971. Sobhan denied the charges brought against him and claimed that he had served as a mole for the Mukti Bahini against Pakistani forces in his time at the Peace Committee.

Death Abdus Sobhan died on 14 February 2020 at Dhaka Medical College Hospital at the age of 83.