The nation waits to hear the ultimate verdict today in the Bangabandhu murder case trial with bated breath and also in the expectation that finally justice will prevail. It has been a long, painful journey for the people of Bangladesh.

It ought not to have been this way, for the particular reason that the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistani occupation in December 1971 was considered symbolic of a clean break with the past. That Bangalees would see democracy grow in their country, that under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman they would go forth to create Shonar Bangla, a cause the Father of the Nation had consistently espoused since he emerged with his Six-Point programme of regional autonomy in the mid-1960s, was not a misplaced expectation. Indeed, it was a dream that seemed eminently attainable with Bangabandhu as the undisputed leader of this country.

And yet that dream was to be marred by the conspiracies already afoot to undermine Bangabandhu and his government. These conspiracies took form and substance even as the government struggled to provide meaningful leadership to the nation. In the pre-dawn hours of 15 August 1975, the conspirators struck. As the nation slept, the killer squads fanned out across various key points in Dhaka, the pre-eminent one being the residence of the President of the Republic, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In one fell stroke, the assassins put an end to the life of the Father of the Nation and to the lives of most members of his family. His wife, three sons, two daughters in law, his brother, his brother in law Abdur Rab Serniabat, his nephew Sheikh Fazlul Haq Moni and Moni's wife Arzoo were all murdered in what would be a macabre demonstration of ferocity.

The assassins would not be prosecuted for a long period of twenty-one years. An infamous indemnity ordinance, put in place by the usurper president Khondokar Moshtaque Ahmed and subsequently incorporated in the nation's sacred constitution by General Ziaur Rahman, Bangladesh's first military ruler, ensured that Bangabandhu's killers (who had also murdered the four national leaders in prison in November 1975) would remain beyond the pale of the law. The killers were indeed rewarded, through being appointed to the nation's diplomatic missions abroad. After Zia's assassination in an abortive coup in May 1981, successive governments until 1996 made no effort to overturn the indemnity ordinance and bring Bangabandhu's killers to justice.

During the Ershad period between 1982 and 1990, the assassins were permitted to form political parties and take part in elections. When a popular uprising forced General Ershad from power in December 1990 and democracy was restored through the general elections of February 1991, the nation looked forward to a time of healing of the old gaping wound. Regrettably, the government led by Khaleda Zia, widow of Ziaur Rahman, pursued the old policy of keeping the killers safe from prosecution.

Twenty-one years after August 1975, the Awami League was voted back to power in June 1996. The government it formed moved briskly to annul the indemnity ordinance and bring Bangabandhu's killers to justice. Those among the assassins who were inside the country were arrested; the others were on the run, outside Bangladesh. That in no way obviated the requirements of justice. Parliament annulled the indemnity ordinance, clearing the way for the perpetrators of the August 1975 tragedy to be brought before the law. In what it considered to be the need for transparency and for justice to be done and to be seen to be done, the government of Sheikh Hasina initiated proceedings against the killers of 1975. In November 1998, the men accused of killing the Father of the Nation and his family were found guilty and sentenced to death.

And then everything stalled with the return to power of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in 2001. The new government of Begum Zia appeared reluctant to pursue the case. In more than one instance, judges felt embarrassed about presiding over the appeals hearings in the case. Conditions came to a pass where soon an inadequacy of judges on the bench led to a stultification of the proceedings of the case. It was a situation that would permeate the entire period of the BNP-Jamaat alliance government between 2001 and 2006. The return of the Awami League to office through its victory at the general elections of December 2008 marked the beginning of a new phase in the Bangabandhu murder trial. Over the last many months, review petitions filed by the convicts have been heard and both prosecution and defence have argued the case in detail.

This morning is, in light of all the twists and turns of the last three and a half decades, or nearly, a moment of reckoning. On a bigger scale, it ought to be a new dawn where a restoration of values should come to underpin Bengali collective life once more. It should be a day where the people of Bangladesh can rise in unison and proclaim to the world that crime does not pay, that rule of law eventually is triumphant, that through a legal condemnation of murder and mayhem we as a nation are finally ready to expiate our collective sin of witnessing Bangabandhu die and staying quiet about the grievous tragedy for years on end. The judicial judgement today, we believe in the core of our beings, will give us back our self-esteem as a nation --- the dignity we caused to flower in ourselves under the inspiring leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in our armed struggle for liberty back in 1971.

-Daily star

Judgement Day

bdnews: The nation awaits the Supreme Court's verdict on the Bangabandhu murder case appeals at 11am on Thursday, 34 years after the bloody events of Aug 15 1975. A newly formed Appellate Division bench began hearing appeals on Oct 5 of five convicts sentenced to death for the killing of independence leader 'Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, known popularly as Bangabandhu. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the slain leader, squeezing a visit to Italy is returning Thursday morning.

The five-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Justice Mohammed Tafazzal Islam, will hand down the verdict in the courtroom of the chief justice. The apex court set the final judgement day on Nov 12 after the 29 days of appeals hearing. All security has been beefed up around the court premises ahead of the verdict of the politically sensitive case. Security for the justices was tightened earlier, after the attorney general received a death threat. On Thursday, some 592 police members have been added to the regular patrol and security personnel at the High Court premises and its adjacent areas.

A walk-through metal detector was installed at the entrance of the courtroom on Wednesday as part of heightened security measures. In the afternoon, ten close circuit cameras and monitoring rooms were installed around the premises. Police cameramen will record footage of the court premises on Thursday, while police and Rapid Action Battalion with the assistance of the dog squads are already posted at the three entrances. Prohibitions are imposed on non-stickered cars. Trespassing by public is also banned, the official said. UK and USA diplomats and embassy staff told bdnews24.com they were advised by their missions to not venture from the diplomatic zone and to avoid crowd.

Home minister Sahara Khatun said on Wednesday law-enforcers were on alert everywhere, ready to tackle any security situation regarding the final verdict of the Bangabandhu murder trial. "But there is no need to panic," said the home minister. "There is no bar in the movement of the public. Law enforcers will search only those they deem suspicious," she said. On whether the government fears any acts of sabotage the minister said: "Nothing will happen Inshallah (by the grace of God)." The ruling Awami League has also asked its supporters not to go overboard and stage rallies and processions following the final verdict.

Top of cause list

Hearing of the appeal stands at the top of Thursday's cause-list. An official of the SC told bdnews24.com the proceedings will start in Courtroom 1 of the Appellate Division at 11am. It is the court room of the chief justice, but since chief justice MM Ruhul Amin is on leave, justice Islam will take his place on Thursday. Other members of the bench are justices Mohammed Abdul Aziz, BK Das, Mohammed Mozammel Hossain and Surendra Kumar Sinha (SK Sinha). Attorney general Mahbubey Alam told reporters on Wednesday: "The nation is waiting eagerly for the verdict." One of the counsels for the prosecution Yousuf Hossain Humayun told bdnews24.com, "We're expecting to get justice. The nation will be free from disgrace with the final verdict." Likewise AFM Mesbahuddin, president of the SC Bar Council, told reporters, "The final verdict will be declared 34 years after the killing. Hope it'll be justice."

Bangabandhu murder case: SC judgement today

New Nation: The long awaited verdict in Bangabandhu murder case appeals will be delivered today. The Supreme Court will deliver the final verdict at 11 AM today. The five-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Justice Mohammed Tofazzul Islam, will hand down the verdict at the court room of the Chief Justice. Since chief justice MM Ruhul Amin is on leave, Justice Mohammad Tofazzul Islam will preside over the Court as acting Chief Justice. Other members of the bench are Justice Md Abdul Aziz, Justice BK Das, Justice Md Muzammel Hossain and Justice SK Sinha.

The legal process was initiated in 1996 after Awami League formed the government. On October 2, 1996, a first information report (FIR) on the murder was lodged with Dhanmondi Police by the then resident PA to the President AFM Mohitul Islam. The accused killers include sacked Lieutenant Col Syed Farooq-ur Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Muhiuddin Ahmed, AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, and sacked Major Bazlul Huda. On November 8, 1998, the Dhaka District Sessions Judge Quazi Golam Rasul sentenced 15 out of 20 accused to death for the brutal killing on August 15, 1975. They, however, filed the appeals with the apex Court in October, 2007 challenging their convictions and sentences in the lower Court. A division bench of the High Court comprising Justice Md Ruhul Amin and Justice ABM Khairul Haque on December 14, 2000, delivered split verdicts on death reference appeals in the case.

On October 5 this year, the newly-formed bench began hearing the appeals against previous Court sentences to hang some convicts in the case for assassinating the nation's Founding Leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975. The final appeal hearing ended after 29 days of hearing and the Court fixed November 19 for pronouncing the verdict. Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed said the verdict would free the country from a curse that continued to prevail since the killing of the founding leader of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the members of his family. The Opposition BNP also said they would accept the verdict although some Awami League leaders told in public that the verdict had been pre-decided. Meanwhile, security has been beefed up around the Court premises ahead of the verdict of the politically sensitive case. Additional security forces have been deployed in the Supreme Court premises and around.

Chronology of the case:

August 15, 1975 - Assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members. September 26, 1975 - An Indemnity Ordinance is promulgated by the government of President Khondker Mushtaque Ahmed, which took over the charge immediately after the August 15 changeover. August 14, 1996 - Three Major accused of Bangabandhu murder -Syed Farook Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan and former State Minister Taheruddin Thakur are arrested. October 2, 1996 - First Information Report (FIR) on the murder is lodged with Dhanmondi police by the then resident PA to the President AFM Mohitul Islam. October 3, 1996 - CID police takes up the case and launches investigation. November 14, 1996 - Parliament scraps the Indemnity Act paving ways to bring the killers to justice.

January 15, 1997- CID submits charge sheet against 20 accused to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court. March 1, 1997- Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Dhaka sends the case to Dhaka District and Sessions' Judge's Court for trial on completion of legal formalities. March 12, 1997- Trial starts with six arrested accused appearing in the court. March 20, 1997- Government appoints 14 lawyers to defend 14 absconding accused who went into hiding abroad after Awami League formed government winning the 1996 general election. April 6, 1997-Trial Court hears charges against the accused. April 21, 1997- Trial abruptly adjourned on the first day of hearing as a defence counsel (of fugitive Colonel Rashid's wife Zobaida Rashid) moves "no-confidence" motion in the High Court against the trial judge.

April 29, 1997 - Trial resumes after High Court rejects the defence counsel's plea. April 29, 1997 - Trial is adjourned immediately after the resumption as another defence counsel challenged the constitution of the trial court at the High Court and sought High Court's interpretation on "substantial questions of law" in trying the accused. May 4, 1997 - High Court suspends trial for one month on a plea from lawyer of an accused saying he needs for more time to settle an appeal to overturn his client's (Zobaida Rashid's) indictment. June 19, 1997 - Trial resumes but postponed immediately for the third time as Zobaida's lawyer moves petition against her indictment in the High Court. July 6, 1997- Trial starts with 19 accused as High Court relieved Zobaida of charges of plotting the Bangabandhu murder. Prime witness Mohitual Islam testifies before the Court.

March 2, 1998 - Apex Appellate Division of the Supreme Court rejects appeal against the scrapping of the Indemnity Act, after a 15-day hearing, removing the last barrier in trying the killers. July 21, 1998- Hearing of the last of the 61 prosecution witnesses (out of listed 74 PWs) ends with the cross-examination of the case's investigating officer, Abdul Kahhar Akhand. August 5, 1998 - The accused claim innocence as the testimony of witnesses end. August 12, 1998- Argument between prosecution and defence lawyers starts with the statement of chief prosecutions counsel Serajul Huque. October 13, 1998 - The 17-month trial process ends on the 146th day of hearing with the end of arguments between the lawyers. November 8, 1998 - Judge Kazi Golam Rasul hands down death penalties to 15 ex-army officers (in the morning). Accused Major (Retd) Bazlul Huda is flown back in an Air Force jet from a Thai jail (in the afternoon).

August 24, 2000 - Concurrent death reference and appeal hearing begins in High Court. December 14, 2000 - High Court bench delivers split judgment after 28 days of hearing. Senior judge M Ruhul Amin upholds death penalties of 10 of the 15 and the other judge ABM Khairul Haque confirms the capital punishment for all the 15. February 12, 2001 - The concurrent death reference and appeal hearing begins at another High Court bench as the split judgment required the case to be referred to a third judge in a second bench. April 30, 2001 - Third Judge Mohammad Fazlul Karim confirms death sentences of 12 of the accused after 25 days of hearing.

June 18, 2007 - The United States returns absconding convict ex-lieutenant colonel AKM Mohiuddin (lancer) to be exposed to justice. September 23, 2007 - A three-member Appellate Division bench grants leave to appeal prayers of five of the convicts in jail asking them to file regular appeal after 27 days of hearing, condoning the delay in filing the petitions by one of them (Mohiuddin of lancer). August 23, 2009 - Chief state lawyer of the case Anisul Haque submits "concise statement" to the apex Court as required for the final appeal hearing. August 24, 2009 - The Appellate Division fixes October 5 for the start of the appeal hearing.

Mujib murder case appeals verdict today

The New Age: The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver its judgement in the appeals of the five death-row convicts in the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman murder case at 11:00am today amid heightened security on the court premises and elsewhere across the country. The five-member Appellate Division bench headed by Justice Tafazzul Islam after the hearing in the appeals for 29 days on November 12 posted the verdict delivery for this morning. The court started hearing in the appeals on October 5.

A large number of law enforcers, in uniform and plain clothes, have been deployed in and around the court to stave off any untoward incidents. Dog squads have also been deployed in the court area. Several closed-circuit cameras have been installed at the main entrance of the Supreme Court building and metal detectors have been installed at every entrance towards the chief justice’s courtroom. The state minister for home affairs, Shamsul Haque Tuku, visited the court premises Wednesday morning to examine security measures. The attorney general, Mahbubey Alam, told reporters on Wednesday he feared criminal activities, including the implanting of bombs on the court premises. He said all were asked to remain alert to any such activities.

Quazi Golam Rasul, who was the Dhaka district and sessions judge, on November 8, 1998 sentenced to death 15 out of the 20 accused of killing the country’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and all but two of the family on August 15, 1975. Sheikh Mujib’s personal assistant Muhitul Islam filed the murder case with the Dhanmondi police on October 2, 1996, 21 years after the killing. Eleven people, including Sheikh Mujib, his wife Fazilatunessa Mujib, sons Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russell, daughters-in-law Sultana Kamal and Rosy Jamal, and brother Sheikh Naser were killed in his residence at Dhanmondi early August 15, 1975. Two others killed in the house were Detective Branch officer Nurul Islam Khan and sepoy Shamsu of the house guards, who were on duty. The president’s military secretary Colonel Jamil, who was rushing to the residence of the then president in response to his call, was also killed near the Sobahanbagh mosque. Only Mujib’s daughters Sheikh Hasina, now the prime minister and Awami League president, and Sheikh Rehana survived the killing as they were abroad at the time.

The High Court on December 14, 2000 delivered a split verdict in the case. Justice M Ruhul Amin, the senior judge of the High Court bench, upheld the death sentences of 10 convicts while the other judge, ABM Khairul Haque, retained the death sentences for all the 15. Justice Fazlul Karim in the final High Court verdict in the case on April 30, 2001 upheld death sentences for 12 and acquitted three. The Appellate Division bench of Justice Tafazzul Islam, Justice Joynul Abedin and Justice M Hassan Ameen on September 23, 2007 allowed the five death-row convicts to appeal against the High Court verdict, delivered in 2001, on five points. The five points are — whether the August 15, 1975 killing was part of a mutiny in the army, whether a civilian court could try army men, whether the delay of about 21 years in filing the first information report of the case was justified under law, whether the charge of conspiracy was established by proper investigation and evidence and whether the case suffered disjointed deposition of witnesses.

The army men sentenced by the sessions judge to death are Syed Faruque Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Chowdhury, Mohiuddin Ahmed, Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Bazlul Huda, Shariful Huq Dalim, Ahmed Shaful Hossain also named as Shariful Islam, Rashed Chowdhury, AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, Nur Chowdhury, Md Aziz Pasha, who died after he had been sentenced, Md Kismat Hashem, Nazmul Hossain Anseri, Abdul Mazed and Moslemuddin. Shariful, Kismat and Nazmul were acquitted of the charges by the final High Court verdict. The government, however, did not file any appeal against the acquittal. Faruque, Shahriar, Muhiuddin Ahmed and Bazlul, who were in jail at the time, filed petitions with the Appellate Division seeking permission to appeal against the verdict. AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed filed a similar petition after the US government had deported him to Bangladesh from Los Angeles on June 17, 2007. Other convicts on the death row are still in hiding. According to the government, Abdur Rashid is now in Libya or Belgium, Dalim in Pakistan or Hong Kong, Rashed Chowdhury in Canada, Nur Chowdhury in the Untied States and Mazed in hiding in an African country. Molesuddin is yet to be traced. Pasha died in Zimbabwe in 2002.

The prosecution in their arguments said the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was not an act of mutiny but of murder as only Sheikh Mujib, his family and relative were killed and the guilty army officers could, therefore, certainly be tried in a conventional court. The state counsel also said mutiny was exclusively triable by a court martial, but in the case of murder, the Army Act of 1952 provides concurrent jurisdiction to both a court martial and an ordinary criminal court. Defence counsels in their arguments said the killing of Sheikh Mujib and his family members was part of an army mutiny and the case should be tried in a military court. Mutiny was not a penal code offence, the defence counsel said, adding it was an offence under the army act and exclusively a matter to be tried in a court martial in keeping with the provision in Section 31 of the army act.

Final verdict today

The Indepedent: The nation waits with bated breath for the final verdict in the Bangabandhu murder case which the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court will deliver at 11 am today dropping curtain on many controversies centring on the brutal killings of the Father of the Nation, and most of his family members on the fateful night of August 15, 1975. A special bench of the SC Appellate Division comprising Justice Md Tafazzul Islam, Justice Md Abdul Aziz, Justice BK Das, Justice Md Muzammel Hossain and Justice SK Sinha will deliver the verdict.

Since Chief Justice MM Ruhul Amin is on leave, Justice Islam will act as the acting Chief Justice. After 29-day-long hearing from both the prosecution and defence sides on the appeals filed by five condemned convicts in the case challenging their convictions and sentences, the apex court on November 12 fixed today for delivering the judgement. Apprehending subversive acts ahead of the verdict the entire country, especially the area in and around the Supreme Court premises and divisional cities, have been put under tight security with the deployment of over 24,000 additional forces from the police, RAB and other law-enforcing agencies. Members of the intelligence agencies, including the Directorate Forces of Intelligence (DGFI), the Special Branch (SB) of police and the Detective Branch (DB) have also been deployed across the country to make the security net foolproof.

Security has also been beefed up at the Dhaka Central Jail where the condemned convicts in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman murder case have been lodged. Besides, security for some VIP personnel, including ministers, chief state counsel, some judges of the Supreme Court, panel lawyers of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman murder case and some other important people involved in the murder case has been tightened. The convicts, Lt Col (sacked) Syed Faruque Rahman, Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Lt Col (retd) Muhiuddin Ahmed, Lt Col (retd) AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, and Maj (retd) Bazlul Huda, who are now behind bars, filed the appeals in the apex court in October, 2007 against their convictions and death sentences by a lower court.

On October 5, the Appellate Division started hearing the appeals on five points -- whether Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed along with most of his family members as a result of a mutiny, whether the evidences adduced by several witnesses are contradictory, whether delay in filing the First Information Report (FIR) was reasonable as held by the lower court, whether there was any conspiracy behind this murder, and whether disposal of the death references of six accused persons out of 15 by the third judge in the High Court was correct and legal.

Advocate Khan Saifur Rahman, counsel for convicts Syed Faruque Rahman and Mohiuddin Ahmed, told the court that the incidents of August 15, 1975 were the result of a mutiny and its purpose was not to kill Bangabandhu. He argued that after an examination of the evidence and materials on record, it was clear that a series of events, briefings and exercises took place in the cantonment before the killing of Bangabandhu and these activities were indicative of mutiny. Hence, it was a case of mutiny that originated in the cantonment which led to murder. It was not a simple case of murder, he argued. He submitted that as per section 31 of the Army Act, the mutineers should be tried in a court martial. But the session judges' court completed the trial under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc), which vitiated the trial, he noted. Apart from section 31 of the Army Act, he cited many examples before the court in support of trial by the court martial. Khan Saifur argued it was not a case of "murder simple" and hence not liable to be tried in an ordinary court. He told the court that the accused of the Chittagong mutiny in May 30, 1981, which resulted in the assassination of President Gen Ziaur Rahman, were court-martialled. "It makes no difference between the events of August 15 and May 30 on the question of mutiny." Counsel said mutiny was not a Penal Code offence, it's an offence under the Army Act and exclusively triable by court martial.

On another legal point against the First Information Report (FIR) lodged by the prosecution witness No 1, defence counsel said there was no reasonable explanation for the delay in filing the FIR on October 2, 1996 with the Dhanmondi police in connection with the case. Another defence counsel, Advocate Abdur Rezzaque Khan, counsel for Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, told the court that his client was not involved in the killing incident. He was accused in the case following newspaper reports. His confessional statement was extracted through torture during the remand. He was taken on remand illegally for a total of 17 days in connection with the case, he alleged. He also submitted that army officers as a whole were involved in the killing incident. But now some of the army officers are the accused, some are on the prosecution side and yet some others are silent spectators in this case.

The trial court had not evaluated the depositions of the prosecution witnesses before delivering the verdict in this case, he observed and concluded his submission with a strong plea to the court for ensuring justice for all. The other defence counsel, Barrister Abdullah-al-Mamun, appealed to the court to commute the death sentence of the convicts in the Bangabandhu murder case to life imprisonment considering their incarceration for a long time. In this connection Barrister Abdullah-al-Manum, counsel for convicts Bazlul Huda and lancer AKM Mohiuddin, referred to section 35(5) of the constitution, which said: "No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment." In the same breath, he pointed out that since 1998 the convicts who were handed down capital punishment have been smarting under the pangs of death. Even if their guilt is proved and the death sentence is upheld, their capital punishment should be commuted to life imprisonment in view of their long-sufferings and mental agony.

Mamum cited three examples of the same nature in the United Kingdom in which a long time was taken to complete the process of law and the death sentence of the convicts was reduced to life imprisonment. He said as per law, if a convict is sentenced to death, it should be carried out immediately after examining of his or her conviction. But in the Bangabandhu murder case, the death sentence of the appellants was not executed quickly and consequently, they have been reeling under the threat of death for a long time, which is unnatural and against the spirit of law. Mamun also made a strong plea for the reinvestigation and retrial of the Bangabandhu murder case for ensuring justice for all and tracing out the real culprits in the case. The main theme of the defence during the whole hearing was that the incidents of August 15, 1975 were the result of a mutiny, and should be retried in a military court following scrapping of the current convictions and sentences of the defendants. They also argued for reducing the death sentence of the convicts to life imprisonment considering their incarceration for a long time.

But the chief government prosecutor in the Bangabandhu murder case, Advocate Anisul Huq, said that there was no scope to commute the death sentence of the killers of Bangabandhu and his family members to life imprisonment in view of their involvement in the gruesome acts of killing. During the hearing, the court asked Anisul Huq: What about the plea of the defence counsel to commute their death sentence to life imprisonment in view of their passing a long period in jail? Citing rules, the chief prosecutor replied that the killers had brutally killed Bangabandhu. They did not even spare the life of his son Sheikh Russel, who was a ten-year-old boy at that time. Besides, the killers mercilessly killed three innocent women and one of them was pregnant. There was no scope to commute their death sentence to life term as they had brutally killed the innocent men and women, he told the court. The attorney general, Mahbubey Alam, argued that the incidents were pre-planned murders to wipe out an entire family and the High Court verdict upholding the lower court convictions and death sentences should also be upheld by the SC Appellate Division. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, architect of independent Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members on the fateful night of August 15, 1975. But none was allowed to file a case immediately after the assassination of the Bangabandhu.

The government of Khandker Mustaque Ahmed that was installed after the bloody military coup passed an ordinance in November that year indemnifying the perpetrators and closing the door on the possibility of a trial. The Awami League government revoked the indemnity ordinance in 1996 and cleared the way for trial. Then, President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's personal assistant Muhitul Islam filed a case on October 2, 1996 in the Dhanmondi police station against 24 persons. The charge sheet was submitted against 20 persons. District and Sessions Judge Kazi Golam Rosul awarded the death sentence to 15 accused persons on November 8, 1998 and acquitted four others, including Taheruddin Thakur. Another accused and former president Khondker Moshtaque Ahmed died earlier. The condemned people are Lt Col (dismissed) Syed Faruque Rahman, Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Lt Col (retd) Muhiuddin Ahmed, Lt Col (retd) AKM Mahiuddin Ahmed, Maj (retd) Bazlul Huda, Lt Col (retd) Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Maj (retd) Shariful Haque Dalim, Maj (retd) Ahmed Shariful Hossain, Lt Col (retd) AM Rashed Chowdhury, Lt Col (retd) SHMB Noor Chowdhury, Lt Col (retd) Md Abdul Aziz Pasha, Capt (retd) Md Kismat Hashem, Capt (retd) Nazmul Hossain Ansar, Capt (retd) Abdul Mazed, and Risaldar (retd) Moslemuddin.

The death reference of the Bangabandhu murder case was then sent to the High Court for disposal. A division bench of the High Court comprising Justice Md Ruhul Amin and Justice ABM Khairul Haque on December 14, 2000, delivered split verdicts on the death reference appeals in the case. First judge Justice Md Ruhul Amin upheld the death sentences of 10 and acquitted five -- Muhiuddin Ahmed, Ahmed Shariful Hossain, Md Kismat Hashem, Nazmul Hossain Ansar, and Moslemuddin. Second judge Justice ABM Khairul Haque upheld the death sentences of all the 15 convicts. On April 30, 2001, the third HC bench of Justice Md Fazlul Karim confirmed capital punishment against 12 and acquitted three others. He delivered the final High Court verdict in the case on April 30, 2001, affirming the convictions and death sentences of 12 of the 15 defendants. The three that he acquitted are Md Kismat Hashem, Ahmed Shariful Hossain, and Nazmul Hossain Ansar.

Earlier on September 23, 2007, a three-judge special bench of the Appellate Division comprising Justice Md Tafazzul Islam, Justice Md Joynul Abedin, and Justice Md Hassan Ameen granted leave to appeal petitions filed by the five convicts. The court also asked them to file regular appeals for hearing by October 30, 2007. Of the 12 condemned convicts, four prisoners, Lt Col (sacked) Syed Faruque Rahman, Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Lt Col (retd) Muhiuddin Ahmed and Major (retd) Bazlul Huda filed the leave-to-appeal in the apex court in the last week of October 2007. Another convict, lancer AKM Mohiuddin, made an appeal from jail after he was deported from the United States on June 18 last year. Six convicts are absconding in various countries while another absconding convict Aziz Pasha died in exile in Zimbabwe earlier. Of those who received the death sentence, former Lt Col Abdur Rashid, Lt Col Shariful Huq Dalim, Lt Col Noor, Risalder Moslemuddin, Lt Col Rashed Chowdhury and Capt Majed are now absconding abroad. Dalim is stated to be hiding in Pakistan or Hong Kong, Nur Chowdhury is in Canada and Majed and Moslemuddin are in India, intelligence sources said.