Bangladesh's Supreme Court upheld the death penalty on Tuesday for a top Islamist party leader over atrocities committed during the war of independence more than four decades ago, paving the way for his execution.

Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, 67, secretary-general of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was convicted in 2013 on charges of genocide, killing intellectuals, torture and abduction during the 1971 war to break away from Pakistan, a ruling that triggered violent protests by his supporters.

Mojaheed, a minister during former premier Khaleda Zia's 2001-06 rule, could be hanged within months, lawyers said.