Mufti Hannan and his aid Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul seeked presidential clemency against their death sentences on Wednesday.
The Kashimpur High Security Jail authorities read out the Supreme Court verdict that upheld its order confirming his death penalty for the 2004 grenade attack on then UK high commissioner to Bangladesh Anwar Chowdhury to Huji chief Mufti Abdul Hannan.
“The copy of the verdict was read out to Mufti Hannan. He told us that he would file mercy petition to the president,” said Mizanur Rahman, senior jail super of the jail.
On March 19, 2017, the country’s apex court rejected the final review application of the three men on death row and released its full verdict against the alleged members of the banned militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad (HuJI). The three men are: Mufti Abdul Hannan, HuJI founder, and two activists in the group, Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul and Delwar Hossain Ripon.
The release of the apex court verdict that dismissed the review petitions of the three death-row convicts has cleared the way for the jail authorities to start the process for executing them.
The jail authorities could execute their death sentences after 21 days and before 28 days from yesterday, under Provision 991 (VI) of the Jail Code.
In 2004, then UK envoy Anwar Chowdhury, who was born in Bangladesh, and 70 others were injured in the attack at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) in Sylhet. Three people, including a police official, were killed.
On December 23, 2008, the Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal sentenced Mufti Hannan, Bipul and Ripon to death. Two other members of the banned militant outfit were sentenced to life in jail. They are Muhibullah alias Muhibur Rahman alias Ovi and Mufti Main Uddin alias Abu Zandal.
On February 11 last year, the HC confirmed the capital punishment for the three and upheld the life sentences of Ovi and Abu Zandal.
On December 7 last year, the SC upheld the death penalties of Hannan, Bipul and Ripon.
The trio filed petitions for reviews on February 23 this year.
Source: The Daily Ittefaq
