Dhaka, November 19: Thirty-four years after Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assasinated in a coup, the country’s Supreme Court today upheld the death sentence on five of his killers, paving the way for their walk to the gallows after a trial that dragged on for 13 years.
The five are among the 12 sacked Army officers, convicted for the 1975 killing, by the court which delieverd its judgement in 15 minutes amidst unprecendented security measures.
The apex court upheld the death sentence awarded to the killers by a lower court in 1998. Seven others who were also convicted are fugitives abroad.
Sheikh Mujib, popularly called Bangabandhu, who led Bangladesh to independence in 1971, was gunned down at his home in a posh Dhanmandi area, along with his wife and three sons in a coup on August 15, 1975.
–PTI