By Prodip Chowdhury
bdnews24.com corespondent
Dhaka, Jan 27 (bdnews24.com) — Syed Faruk Rahman, one of the two death-row convicts in the Bangabandhu murder case who had not sought presidential clemency so far, submitted a 'final-hour' mercy plea on Wednesday.
The clemency plea came after the Supreme Court's dismissal of review petitions by the five jailed former army officers facing the gallows for the 1975 killing of independence hero president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Faruk's mercy petition arrived at the law ministry, via home ministry, on Wednesday afternoon. His plea to the president, sent through the prison authorities, was seen by bdnews24.com correspondent Prodip Chowdhury.
The petition will be sent on to the president through the prime minister's office.
Just hours before, law minister Shafique Ahmed had said the executions of the five condemned men would be carried out by Jan 31, and the two who had yet to seek clemency must do so "immediately".
He made the announcement at a press conference after a meeting with the home minister, inspector general of prisons and other concerned officials, following the dismissal of the petitions for review of the appeals court's judgment last November that upheld death sentences of the convicted killers.
Death warrants were issued against Syed Faruk Rahman, Mohiuddin Ahmed, Bazlul Huda, AKM Mohiuddin and Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan on January 3.
According to law, the death sentence should be executed between 21 and 28 days from the issuance of the warrants.
But a death convict has the right to petition for a review of the final judgment in his case within this time and to seek presidential clemency as the last resort.
All five death-row convicts submitted separate review petitions in this case, while clemency pleas of three have already been rejected by the president.
Huda, Mohiuddin Ahmed and AKM Mohiuddin submitted mercy petitions on Jan 9. Mohammed Shafiul Alam, secretary to the president, told bdnews24.com on Jan 18 that the president had rejected the pleas.
Shahriar Rashid is the last who is yet to seek clemency.
A special four-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by chief justice Md Tafazzul Islam, dismissed the review petitions earlier in the day. The court convened at around 9.25am. The bench gave its ruling within minutes.
Shafique Ahmed told the press conference later: "Everything is explained in detail in the jail code about the execution. Jail authorities will take measures accordingly."
Asked about the two remaining convicts who did not submit clemency petitions, he had said: "They have been already informed of the Supreme Court ruling. They will have to submit mercy petitions immediately as per law."
Chief state counsel Anisul Haque also said the two remaining convicts had yet the scope to submit clemency pleas but would have to do so soon.
"The provision of submitting mercy petitions between seven and 15 days following the dismissal of review petitions will not be applicable here.
"They will have to submit mercy petitions immediately," Haque said.
Haque said: "The executions should be carried out between 21 and 28 days from the day of issuance of release of the original Supreme Court judgment and issuance of death warrants.
"The countdown has begun from Jan 3. There is no legal bar in carrying out the executions by Jan 31," he said.
On whether the time taken to hear on the review petitions would be subtracted from the 21-28 days, Haque said nothing is said in the jail code about review petitions.
The law minister was asked if the convicts submit clemency petitions to the president whether it would be possible to resolve them by Jan 31.
He said: "If they submit petitions immediately it will be possible to resolve them by the deadline."
Home minister Sahara Khatun, who was also present during the press briefing, said law enforcers had been directed to take tight security measures across the country at this sensitive time.
She declined to reveal the types of security measures.
Khatun was asked whether the intelligence agencies had received any information of subversive acts.
She said: "Will it be right to disclose them if they had? I cannot do that as a home minister."
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