Shafik Rehman, Mahmudur Rahman, 3 others sentenced to 7 yrs in jail

A court has sentenced journalist Shafik Rehman and four others to seven years in prison in a case filed over conspiracy to abduct and kill prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

Muhammad Asaduzzaman Nur, additional chief metropolitan magistrate of Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, handed down the verdict on Thursday.

Asssistant public prosecutor Abdur Rahman confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo.

The others sentenced in the case are Amar Desh’s acting editor Mahmudur Rahman, Jatiyatabadi Samajik-Sangsktritik Sangstha’s vice president Mohammad Ullah Mamun, his son Rizvi Ahammed alias Caesar and US expatriate businessman Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan.

Assistant PP Abdur Rahman said all the convicted persons absconded after securing bail.

Detective Branch (DB) police’s inspector Fazlur Rahman filed the case with Paltan police station on 3 August 2015.

According to the case statement, the accused and top leaders of BNP and its allies met in several places including in Dhaka’s JASAS office in Paltan, New York and the United Kingdom. They plotted to abduct Joy and kill him in the US. Rizvi Ahammed was given the responsibility of killing Joy.

Shafik Rehman was arrested in the case on 16 April in 2016.

Police on 22 February in 2018 submitted a charge sheet against Shafik Rehman and four others. Joy on 13 November last year testified before the court.

The case accused Shafik and Mahmudur of being masterminds behind the conspiracy in the charge sheet.

Rizvi Ahammed was accused of being in charge of execution of the plan.  Rizvi collected personal information of Joy from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and sent it to others. US expatriate Mizanur Rahman was accused of financing and mentoring.

A case was filed over the incident in the US too where a court in New York sentenced Rizvi to 42 months imprisonment in March, 2015. Moreover, friend of an FBI agent was sentenced to 30 months in jail over bribe.