Dhaka, Dec 20 (bdnews24.com) — Five Supreme Court judges, in their judgement on the Bangabandhu murder appeals, have slammed the post assassination government for being inactive regarding the trial, the attorney general said Sunday.
"The Appellate Division highlighted the inactive stand regarding the killing, terming it, in a civilised society, unfortunate and shameful," Mahbubey Alam told reporters after collecting a copy of the full judgement.
The five Appellate Division judges who upheld death sentences of five convicts in the Bangabandhu murder case signed and released the full 412-page judgement on the appeals on Dec 17.
The release of the full text makes way for the next phase of legal procedures, including possible review and clemency petitions by the convicts condemned to death.
The attorney general said justice Mohammed Tafazzul Islam handed down the main verdict with the four other judges in agreement. Three of the judges also gave personal opinions.
Citing the verdict, Alam said: "It is the responsibility of the state to make way for a citizen to seek justice in a criminal case. Government is also responsible for upholding the constitution which the then government failed to do after the killing of Bangabandhu."
"No steps were taken in these regards."
The convicts appealed to the Supreme Court for reducing the death penalty to life sentence, Alam said.
"The Supreme Court judged that there was no scope to commute the death sentence for the brutal and hateful killing."
After analysing all the evidence, the Appellate Division bench decided that the death sentence was appropriate, Alam said.
Five of the former army officers convicted of the Aug 15 1971 killing of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and family members appealed their death sentences in the case: Syed Faruk Rahman, Mohiuddin Ahmed, AKM Mohiuddin, Bazlul Huda and Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan.
Defence counsels argued the killings should have been tried as 'a coup' and the trial and conviction of the five appellants under criminal law were invalid.
The Supreme Court judged that the killings were not part a coup, rather it was a planned attack where the main purpose was to kill Sheikh Mujib and his family.
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Killing of Bangabandhu and aftermath
