Dhaka: Bangladesh Supreme Court today commuted the death sentence of Delwar Hossain Sayedee, a key 1971 war criminal and fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami leader, saying he would now have to serve in prison "until his death".

"He shall serve in prison for the rest of his natural life," Chief Justice M Muzammel Hossain pronounced in a crowded courtroom in a surprise ruling. A five-member bench of the apex court, headed by Hossain, pronounced the verdict by "majority view" but did not elaborate how many of the judges gave different opinions over the sentence of Sayedee, who was handed down death penalty by International Crimes Tribunal in February last year.