Court gives militants Bangla Bhai death

Dhaka: Six Bangladeshi militants are to hang for murdering two judges after the Supreme Court rejected their review petition on Tuesday.

They include Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) chief Shaikh Abdur Rahman and his number two, the dreaded Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai. Legal experts said the militants could only ask for a presidential pardon with all legal course closed.

"All the petitions are dismissed," Chief Justice Syed J.R. Mudassir Husain pronounced the order after hearings on the petitions for the past three days, United News of Bangladesh (UNB) said.

A seven-member full court of the Appellate Division heard the petitions of the main leaders of the militant group blamed for leading an abortive violent campaign for establishing Islamic rule.

Senior assistant judges Sohel Ahmed and Jagannath Pandey were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Jhalakati Nov 14 last year, in the wake of serial bombings across the country.

A Barisal court May 29 awarded the death penalty to the JMB chief and his six comrades in the killing case.

Of them, suicide bomber Asadur Rahman Arif has been absconding since the incident.

The trial proceedings were marked by defiant statements by the accused who said that they did not recognise the authority of the court and the government constituted under "man-made constitution".

On August 31, the high court confirmed the death sentences awarded by the trial court.

The others whose death sentences were confirmed earlier by the high court are Abdur Rahman's brother and military operation commander Ataur Rahman Sunny, son-in-law Abdul Awal and suicide bombers Iftekhar Hasan Al Mamun and Khaled Saifullah.

The government of Begum Khaleda Zia had for long refused to acknowledge the presence of the Islamist militants and their activities and banned JMB and other organisations only after pressures from the world community, particularly the US.

However, it acted fast on the investigations and trial in this murder case. It has taken less than a year for the legal course to be completed.

A number of other cases involving the militants and political violence, among them three attempts on the life of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, remain unresolved.