Prof Humayun Azad murder case: Prosecution seeks death penalty for 4 accused

The prosecution today concluded arguments and sought capital punishment for four Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) members in Prof Humayun Azad murder case.

The accused are Salehin alias Salahuddin, Anwarul Alam alias Anwar, Mizanur Rahman alias Minhaz and Nur Mohammad. Of them, Salehin and Nur are on the run, while others are in jail.

During the closing arguments, Advocate Md Shaiful Islam, public prosecutor of the case, told the court that they were able to prove the charges against all the accused and sought highest punishment for their involvement in the crime.

Judge Maksuda Parvin of the Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka set January 24 for the defense lawyers' arguments.

Earlier, the court recorded statements of 42 prosecution witnesses, including complainant of the case.

On February 27, 2004, JMB activists stabbed 56-year-old Azad while he was trying to hail a rickshaw to go home from Ekushey Book Fair at Bangla Academy in the capital.

After the attack, Azad was treated at the Combined Military Hospital for 26 days.

Then the government sent him to Bangkok for better treatment from where he returned home after over 47 days.

A day after the murder attempt, Azad's brother Manjur Kabir filed an attempt to murder case with Ramna Police Station against some unnamed people.

Dr Azad, a professor of Dhaka University's Bangla department, died from what an autopsy said was a heart attack in Munich on August 12, 2004.

The investigation officer, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Inspector Kazi Abdul Malek, submitted a charge sheet on November 15, 2007 accusing JMB leaders Anwar, Mizanur and Nur.

JMB leaders Shaekh Abdur Rahman and Ataur Rahman Sunny were dropped from the charge sheet as they were executed following a Supreme Court verdict for killing two judges of Jhalakathi on November 14 of 2005.

On April 30, 2012, CID again pressed charges against the accused and appealed for the case to be converted into a murder case. The court accepted their appeal the same day.