2 get death sentence, 1 gets life term for murder of blogger Rajib

Two persons have been sentenced to death and one to life imprisonment for the February 2013 murder of blogger and Ganajagaran Mancha activist Ahmed Rajib Haider.

The court pronounced various prison terms for five others, including Ansarullah Bangla Team's chief Mufti Jasim Uddin Rahmani.

Rahmani had been named the ‘instigator’ of the crime in the case.

All other the convicts are former North South University students.

Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 pronounced the verdict on Thursday, three years after the murder.

Those sentenced to death are Redwanul Azad Rana and Faisal Bin Nayeem Deep.

They were also fined Tk 10,000 each.

All the convicts except Rana are currently in jail.

This is the first verdict in cases related to the recent killings of bloggers.

Maksudul Hasan Anik, sentenced to life in prison for killing Haider, has also been fined Tk 10,000. He will have to spend an extra year in jail if he fails to pay the fine.

Ehsan Reza Rumman, Nayeem Irad, and Nafiz Imtiaj have been sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined Tk 5,000 each.

They will have to spend another six months in prison if they fail to pay the fine.

Rahmani has been sentenced to five years in prison and fined Tk 2,000. His term will be extended by two months if he does not pay the fine.

The court sentenced Sadman Yasir Mahmud to three years in jail and fined him Tk 2,000. He will have to serve three extra months if he fails to pay.

Haider's father, Nazim Uddin, found the verdict disappointing.

State lawyer Mahbubur Rahman said they will appeal against it.

The fatal blow, according to the verdict, had been delivered by Deep's machete. Anik had bought the weapon for him.

The convicts seemed to be unmoved while the sentence was being read. They were seen murmuring.

Haider, an architect by profession, was hacked to death on Feb 15, 2013, near his home in Dhaka’s Mirpur.

Police investigations revealed the hand of religious fanatics in the crime.

Rahmani is considered the ‘instigator’ of the murder because the other seven convicts used to take avid interest in his sermons.