Bangladesh's bloody struggle for liberation from Pakistan in 1971 saw some three million people killed. Many war crimes were allegedly committed during the conflict and resentment about those escaping justice has festered for close to forty years.

A private group that has investigated the conflict claims to have identified nearly 2,000 people, including high ranking Pakistani generals and local Islamists allied with Pakistan, as complicit in the atrocities.

As part of his election campaign, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been in power since the start of the year, rallied voters on the promise of holding trials to bring the perpetrators to justice. Yet recent changes made to the existing war crimes law by Law Minister Shafique Ahmed are no more than ‘cosmetic’ says Human Rights Watch Asia Director Adam Brady.

In response to the Law Minister’s announcement, Human Rights Watch wrote a letter to the Prime Minister saying the changes did not go far enough to bring the laws into line with current, international standards.

“The 1973 law was intended to get revenge on people who committed these atrocities, largely Pakistanis. Standards for fair trial, for victim and witness protection, for due process and independent judges are all quite different…it would be very easy for the Bangladeshi government to borrow from those principles to create a law that meets international standards and those of the Bangladeshi constitution.”

Mr Adams says the Law Minister is a good lawyer and is surprised that the government hasn’t done more since coming to power. It’s a highly political subject in Bangladesh and Mr Adams fears that at some point, the politics may outweigh the pursuit of justice.

“The danger is that it could get so overheated and emotional that it becomes a question of revenge where the wrong people could be put on trial and they could cut corners on things like evidence. The entire process could become so politicised that it loses credibility.”

He thinks that the perpetrators could benefit from a procedure that isn’t up to standard as that would make it easier to appeal against their convictions.

Mr Adams is tight lipped about who might stand trial but there are some high profile names being bandied in about the Bangladeshi press.

“Everyone denies vehemently their roles….and seeing as these crimes are nearly forty years old coming up with kind of evidence to convict people will be difficult…this is a very complicated process and requires extreme care.”

Listen to an interview with Adam Brady