Xulhaz Murder: Accused asks for death by firing squad
An accused in the Xulhaz-Tonoy murder case told a judge that he would prefer death by the firing squad in public, if the court was to give him the death penalty.
At the end of yesterday's closing arguments of the proceeding, Arafat Rahman Siam, member of militant outfit Ansar al Islam, said, "Sir, if I get the death penalty in the case as a militant, please order for my execution by the firing squad."
Siam was given the death penalty in another case in February.
He repeated the sentence twice before Judge Majibur Rahman of the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal set August 31 to deliver the verdict in the case.
Siam is one of the eight members of Ansar al Islam accused in the case.
He did not say why he wanted his execution by the firing squad.
Ahamedul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of police, who investigated Ansar al Islam for a long time, said the members believe that execution of death by the firing squad is a glorious.
The accused must have asked for such an execution for this reason, he added.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Golam Sharuar Khan told The Daily Star that 24 prosecution witnesses gave their depositions during the trial of the case.
During yesterday's closing arguments, the prosecutors told the court that the charges against the accused had been proven and sought capital punishment for them.
Lawyers representing the accused sought acquittal for their clients.
Besides Sium, Mozammel Hossain Saimon, Sheikh Abdullah alias Jubair, and Asadullah alias Foyjul were at the court yesterday.
The other accused, (sacked) Major Zia who goes by the alias of Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque, Akram Hossain, and Sabbirul Haque Chowdhury, and Junaid Ahmed are still on the run.
On April 25, 2016, former USAID official Xulhaz Mannan and his friend Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy were hacked to death at Xulhaz's Kalabagan flat.
Minhaz Mannan Emon, elder brother of Xulhaz, filed a case accusing unidentified assailants with Kalabagan Police Station that day.
Inspector Muhammad Monirul Islam of CTTC on July 23, 2019, pressed charges against the eight accused at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka.
On November 19 last year, the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal framed charges against them.
On February 10 this year, the same tribunal sentenced Zia, Akram, Mozammel and Abdullah to death for murdering Jagriti Prokashoni publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan.
On February 16, Zia, Akram, Mozammel and Sium were sentenced to death for killing writer-blogger Avijit Roy near the TSC of Dhaka University.
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