The Supreme Court has released the full text of its verdict that upheld the death penalty of three militants of Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (Huji), including its chief Mufti Abdul Hannan, in a case filed for the 2004 grenade attack on Anwar Chowdhury, the then UK envoy in Bangladesh.
The apex court released the verdict on Tuesday clearing the way for the government to start the process for executing the three condemned militants. Two other death-row convicts are Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul and Delwar Hossain alias Ripon.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star yesterday that the jail authorities will start the process after receiving the verdict's certified copy.
The death penalty will be executed in 21 to 28 days after the trial court issues the death warrant against them as per the Jail Code, he said.
The execution will be halted if the convicts move any review petition, he added.
Defence lawyer of the convicts Mohammad Ali said his clients will move a review petition before the Appellate Division against its verdict.
The petition will be filed in 30 days after receiving the certified copy of the verdict, he said.
The SC on December 7 upheld the death penalty of the three in the case.
“We find no extraneous ground to commute the sentences and the High Court Division has rightly exercised its discretion on the question of sentence on assigning good reasons. We find no reason to depart from the same,” the four member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha said in the full verdict.
In 2004, Anwar Choudhury along with around 70 others was hurt and three others were killed in the attack at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) in Sylhet.