Bangladesh upholds death sentences for 1975 coup

Dhaka, Nov 19: The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentences of five former soldiers in the 1975 killing of Bangladesh's independence leader Sheikh Mujib Rahman in a military coup.

A five-judge bench of the apex court delivered the judgement amid tight security at the court premises on Thursday, Nov 19.

"Executions of the Mujib killers would relieve the nation of a great burden and restore rule of law," said Abu Yusuf Humayun, a senior state prosecutor.

"We had been waiting so long for the final judgement. Today we have that and hope they will be executed soon," he told reporters at the court.

The apex court upheld the death sentence awarded to the killers by a High 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 along with his wife and three sons in a coup on August 15, 1975.

OneIndia News