Bangladesh executes killer of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Published April 12, 2020
In this file photo Sheikh Mujibur Rehman approaches microphones to address a rally in Dhaka.
In this file photo Sheikh Mujibur Rehman approaches microphones to address a rally in Dhaka.

Authorities in Bangladesh have executed a killer of the country’s independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, nearly 45 years after the brutal assassination, a prison official said.

Abdul Majed, a former military captain, was hanged at the central jail at Keraniganj near the capital, Dhaka, just one minute past Saturday midnight, said Inspector General of Prisons Brig Gen A.K.M. Mustafa Kamal Pasha.

He was arrested in Dhaka on Tuesday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said, adding that the arrest was “the biggest gift” for Bangladesh this year.

Majed had publicly announced his involvement in the assassination and had reportedly been hiding in India for many years. He recently returned to Bangladesh.

The execution took place after President M Abdul Hamid rejected a clemency filed by Majed, seeking mercy. His wife and other family members visited him for last time on Saturday.

Majed is one of a dozen defendants whose death sentences were upheld by the country’s Supreme Court in 2009. A trial court in 1998 had sentenced them to death for their involvement in the Aug 15, 1975, killing of Rahman and most of his family members by a group of army officials.

Rahman was the father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana were the only survivors in the family, as they were visiting Germany during the assassination.

After the assassination, subsequent governments and later President Ziaur Rahman awarded the killers by posting them mostly in Bangladesh’s diplomatic missions abroad. Majed was posted as Bangladesh’s ambassador to Senegal in 1980. Rahman — an ex-army chief and the husband of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, an archrival of Hasina — was killed in a military coup in 1981. Ziaur Rahman and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were not related.

In 2010, five others who admitted to taking part in the assassination were hanged. One man died of natural causes in Zimbabwe. The other six convicts, including Majed, were at large. At least one of them is in Canada and another in the United States, officials say.

Opinion

Editorial

Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...
Islamabad protest
Updated 20 Nov, 2024

Islamabad protest

As Nov 24 draws nearer, both the PTI and the Islamabad administration must remain wary and keep within the limits of reason and the law.
PIA uncertainty
20 Nov, 2024

PIA uncertainty

THE failed attempt to privatise the national flag carrier late last month has led to a fierce debate around the...
T20 disappointment
20 Nov, 2024

T20 disappointment

AFTER experiencing the historic high of the One-day International series triumph against Australia, Pakistan came...