SC upholds death for 2 in JSD leader Aref killing case
The Supreme Court today upheld the death penalty of two persons in a case filed for killing Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) president Kazi Aref Ahmed and four others in 1999.
The apex court passed the order after rejecting two review petitions filed by the condemn convicts -- Rashedul Islam alias Jhantu and Anwar Hossain alias Anwar -- challenging its verdict that had sentenced them to death in the case.
An armed gang killed Kazi Aref, Kushtia district JSD president Lokman Hossain, general secretary Yakub Ali, local JSD leader Shamsher Ali and Israil Hossain at a rally in Kalidaspur village of Daulatpur upazila in Kushtia on February 16, 1999.
After today’s verdict, Additional Attorney General Mumtaz Uddin Fakir told reporters that the convicts can now seek presidential mercy to save their necks.
“If they don’t, the jail authorities can execute them any day,” Fakir said.
M Masud Rana, a counsel for the convicts, told The Daily Star that his clients will take decision about the presidential mercy after getting the full judgment of the SC.
On August 30, 2004, the then additional district and sessions judge Fazlur Rahman pronounced verdict sentencing 10 people to death and 12 others to life-term imprisonment for the killings.
On August 5 in 2008, a High Court bench acquitted one of the death sentence awardees and upheld punishment of others.
The duo filed the review petition after the Supreme Court upheld the HC verdict on August 7, 2011.
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