A decade on, the family of slain blogger Niloy has yet to receive justice

“We won’t ever get him back, but we will get some peace when we get justice,” says Niloy’s wife Ashamoni

A decade has passed since the murder of blogger Niladri Chatterjee, aka Niloy Neel, but his family has yet to receive justice. The suspects in the case are also demanding that their trial be concluded quickly and that their justice be served.

He wrote on the Ishtishon blog under the pen name “Niloy Neel” and was involved in the mass movement that emerged to demand justice for war crimes.

He had received death threats over his writing for several days before his murder. He also wrote in a Facebook post that he had attempted to file a general diary (GD) with police two and a half months before the murder over concerns for his security, but the police station did not accept it.

Niloy lived on the fifth floor of a five-story building near the East Goran Tempo Stand in Dhaka’s Khilgaon.

Amid a series of “targeted killings” by extremists across the country, 27-year-old Niloy was murdered in an attack on his house on Aug 7, 2015. That night, his wife Ashamoni filed a case with the Khilgaon Police Station against four unidentified suspects.

Five years after the incident, on Oct 4, 2020, Ramna Zonal Team Police Inspector Shah Md Akhtaruzzaman Elias filed a charge sheet naming 13 suspects, including dismissed major Syed Md Ziaul Haque Zia. On Jan 18, 2022, the 13 accused were indicted, paving the way for the trial.

The other suspects in the case are Masum Rana, Saad Al Nahin, Md Kawsar Hossain Khan, Md Kamal Hossain Sardar, Maulana Mufti Abdul Gaffar, Md Mortuza Faisal Sabbir, Md Tarequl Alam alias Tarek Khairul Islam alias Jamil alias Rifat alias Fahim alias Jisan, Abu Siddique Sohel alias Shakib alias Sahab, Mozammel Hossain Saymon, Md Arafat Rahman and Md Sheikh Abdullah alias Zubair.

Among the accused, Zia, Sohel and Kawsar are absconding, and arrest warrants have been issued against them.

The trial is still ongoing, with testimony being recorded in the court of First Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Ibrahim Miah of Dhaka. The last hearing was on Jul 30.

Police Inspector Anwar Hossain Khan testified that day. After his testimony, the next hearing is on Sept 14. Only five of the 15 witnesses in the case have testified so far.

Ashamoni said, "I thought the trial of the case would be completed within two and a half years of the incident. But it has been 10 years. I have been seeking justice for 10 years, but I have yet to get it."

“They simply killed a man. We must get justice. We won’t ever get him back, but we will get some peace when we have justice,” she says.

Additional Public Prosecutor Mohammad Billal Hossain said, “Five people have testified in the case. If some more witnesses show up in the next one or two scheduled hearings, the trial will begin to wrap up. There is a possibility that we can settle the case with four to five more hearings.

"Hopefully, the trial will be completed by March next year. It could even be earlier. We are trying our best to complete the trial. May the accused face the maximum punishment, and the victim's family get justice."

On the day of the incident, four young men entered Niloy's house pretending to be potential tenants, took Ashamoni hostage at gunpoint, and killed Niloy.

Defence lawyer Md Abu Bakr Siddique claims, "Some of the defendants in this case are innocent, but are in prison. Some are also out on bail."

“They were not named in the case dossier but have been accused in the case for no reason. We want the case to be resolved soon. Everyone should get justice.”