Six JMB Militants
Execution not held as jails get no decision on mercy petitions
Staff Correspondent
The prison authorities are now awaiting the president's decision regarding the execution of six of the seven condemned militants, including Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) chief Abdur Rahman and its operations commander Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai.The six are in different jails while the other is absconding. Around two weeks back the jail authorities sent mercy petitions of the six to the president through the ministry concerned but they are yet to receive his decision on those. Earlier, the prison authorities had fixed one minute past zero hour yesterday for execution of the militants but that stands cancelled as they submitted mercy petitions to the president, Inspector General (Prisons) Brig Gen Zakir Hasan told The Daily Star yesterday. The authorities sent the mercy petitions to the home ministry on January 27 and 28. As per law, the home ministry is supposed to forward the petitions to the law ministry for sending those to the president with its recommendations. 'We sent the mercy petitions for the president's decision. We do not know at what stage those are now," said Zakir. They are now waiting for the president's decision. He also said there is no time limit for the presidential decision. According to jail code, if the president rejects clemency prayers by the condemned, the jail authorities re-fix the date of execution within 21-28 days from the date of receipt of the copy of his decision, he mentioned. The seven JMB militants were convicted and sentenced to death for killing two judges in Jhalakathi in a suicide bomb attack in November 2005. One of them, Asadul Islam alias Arif, is absconding. Besides Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai, the condemned militants are JMB Majlish-e-Shura members Ataur Rahman Sunny, Abdul Awal, Khaled Saifullah and suicide bomber Iftekhar al Mamun. Senior assistant judges Jagannath Pandey and Sohel Ahmed were killed in the suicide bomb attack at Purba Chadkati in Jhalakathi town in the wake of a series of bombings carried out by Islamist militants across the country. The High Court (HC) on August 31 last year upheld the trial court verdict handing down death penalty to the seven convicts on May 29. The Supreme Court on November 28 last year rejected the six convicts' petitions seeking permission to appeal against the HC judgement.
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