Two to die for blogger Rajib murder

A Dhaka court on Thursday sentenced two people to death on Thursday for murder of secular blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider in 2013, reports UNB.

The tribunal jailed one to life term imprisonment in the case.

The death convicts are Faisal Din Nayeem alias Dwip and Redwanul Azad Rana while the lifer is Maksudul Hasan Anik.

Faisal and Redwanul were also fined Tk10,000 each while Maksudul fined Tk10,000, in default, to serve one year more jail.

Besides, three more-Mohammad Ehsan Reza Rumman, Mohammad Nayeem Shikder alias Erat and Nasir Imtiaz-got 10 years behind bars. They were fined Tk5,000 each, in default of which they will have to suffer six months more jail.

Ansarullah Bangla Team chief Mufti Mohammad Jasim Uddin Rahamani was awarded five year’s jail term while Sadman Yeasir Mahmud got three years’ jail.

Mufti Jasim and Sadman were fined Tk2,000 each, in default, to suffer two months’ jail.  

Judge Syed Ahmed of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 handed down the verdict.

Seven of the convicts were present in the dock during pronouncement of the judgment while Redwanul was tried in absentia.

On 28 December, Judge Syed Ahmed of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 fixed the date after conclusion of the law-point arguments from both the prosecution and defence sides.

Seven accused, out of eight, were present in the dock during the hearing.

Special public prosecutor Mahbubur Rhman said, “We expect the highest punishment for the accused as we’ve been able to prove the allegations brought against them though evidence and arguments.”

Meanwhile, the defence counsel alleged that there is no eyewitness in the case, and hoped that all the accused will be acquitted.

Earlier on 11 May, Judge Ruhul Amin of Fourth Additional Metropolitan

Sessions Judge’s Court transferred the case to the Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 for its quick disposal.

On 19 March, the court indicted eight people-Shaikhul Hadith Mufti Jasimuddin Rahmani, chief of Ansarullah Bangla Team, former students of North South University (NSU) Faisal Bin Nayeem alias Dipu,

Maksudul Hasan alias Anik, Mohammad Ehsan Reza alias Rumman, Nayeem Sikder alias Irad, Nafir Imtiaz, Sadman Yasir Mahmud and Redwanul Azad alias Rana in the blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider murder case.

On 15 February, 2013, Ahmed Rajib Haidar, an activist of Ganajagarn Mancha, was stabbed to death near his house at Mirpur Palash Nagar in the capital.

Timeline of attacks on Bangladesh's secular bloggers

According to AFP, 26 February 2015 - Avijit Roy, 42, an American-Bangladeshi writer and the moderator of a “free-thinking” blogging website, and his wife Rafida Ahmed are attacked just yards (metres) away from a book fair in Dhaka. Roy dies and his wife is severely wounded.

• 30 March 2015 - Secular blogger Washiqur Rahman, 27, is hacked to death in broad daylight near his home in Dhaka’s Tejgaon area. Two of the attackers, both students at an Islamic seminary, are arrested at the scene.
• 12 May 2015 - Secular blogger Ananta Bijoy Das, 33, a banker and a founder of a group called the Science and Rationalist Council, is hacked to death near his home in northeastern city of Sylhet.
• 7 August  2015 - Secular blogger Niloy Chakrabarti, 40, who wrote online under the pen name Niloy Neel, is hacked to death in his home in central Dhaka.
• 31 October  2015 - Publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan, 43, who published a bestselling book by murdered writer Avijit Roy, is killed at his office in a market in central Dhaka.
• A separate attack seriously wounds publisher Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, blogger Ranadipam Basu and poet Tareq Rahim.