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ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador to Bangladesh, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, following the execution of an Islamist party leader this week for genocide and other crimes committed during a 1971 war of independence.

Bangladesh on Wednesday hanged Motiur Rahman Nizami, head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, for genocide, rape and orchestrating the massacre of intellectuals during the war.

International human rights groups say the procedures of the Bangladeshi tribunal that sentenced Nizami fell short of international standards. The government rejects that, and the trials have been supported by many Bangladeshis. In Turkey, there have been a handful of protests against the execution in recent days.