Bangladesh court issues death warrant against Bangabandhu killer Mazed

A Dhaka court has issued a death warrant against Abdul Mazed, a convict in the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, opening the way for his execution.

Dhaka District and Sessions Judge Md Helal Chowdhury issued the warrant after Mazed was taken to the court on Wednesday.

Mazed was arrested in Mirpur on Tuesday, four decades after the murder.

Abdul Mazed, a key fugitive convict in the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was sent to jail following his arrest on Tuesday.

Court officials subsequently headed to the Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj with the warrant, where Mazed has been kept since his arrest.

The court has stopped its regular activities like other offices in the country during the lockdown imposed to prevent the coronavirus epidemic from spreading. It is only addressing the emergency issues.

While courts, like most other institutions, have remained closed during the coronavirus lockdown, the Dhaka District and Sessions Judges Court convened on Wednesday with special permission from the Supreme Court to issue the death warrant.

“Initially, the court was unable to take action against Mazed,” Mohammed Saifur Rahman, spokesperson of the apex court, told bdnews24.com.

Abdul Mazed, a key fugitive convict in the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was sent to jail following his arrest on Tuesday.

“Therefore, the Dhaka District and Sessions Judges Court appealed to the Supreme Court and the closure was lifted, allowing it to take the necessary steps against the convict,” he said.

The jail authority will now read out the death warrant to the convict, Lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kazal, one of the counsellors of the state in the Bangabandhu murder case told bdnews24.com.

On whether Mazed can appeal against his sentence, Kazal said: "The time to file an appeal passed long ago. Moreover, he won't be able to cite any logical reasons for the failure to appeal within time. So there's no scope for an appeal at this stage."

The death sentence could be executed any day between Apr 21 and 28, according to the lawyer.