B'desh SC upholds death rap for Mujib's killers

Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the review petitions of five convicted killers of the country's founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members in 1975, setting the stage for their execution.

A four member bench of the apex appellate division of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Mohammad Tafazzul Islam pronounced the verdict after three days of hearing the pleas of five of the 12 convicted ex-military officials. The five convicts are sacked lieutenant colonels Syed Faruq Rahman, Sultan Shariar Rashid Khan, Mohiuddin Ahmed (artillery) and AKM Mohiuddin and sacked Major Bazlul Huda.

Sheikh Mujib, popularly called Bangabandhu, who led Bangladesh to independence in 1971, was gunned down at his home in posh Dhanmandi area, along with his wife and three sons, in a coup on August 15, 1975.

His daughters Sheikh Hasina, the present prime minister, and Sheikh Rehana were saved as they were abroad at that time of the massacre. A total of 28 people, including domestic staff, were killed when a group of junior army officers stormed Bangabandhu's private residence in a pre-dawn coup that also toppled his post-independence Awami League-led government.

Officials and legal experts said the five convicts could be hanged sometime in February, in line with the jail code which suggests that the convicts should be executed between 28 and 29 days after the issuance of the death warrants, following the final verdict.