C T Online Desk: Dr Najim Uddin, the father of blogger and activist Ahmed Rajib Haider, who was slain nine years ago, is frustrated at the lack of progress in the case and what he believes to be improper verdicts.
“We haven’t followed the matter since the High Court announced its verdict. As far as I know, the case has been shifted to the Appellate Division. In fact, we’re totally fed up with it,” he said.
On Feb 15, 2013, blogger and Ganajagaran Mancha activist Rajib was hacked to death near his residence in Dhaka’s Mirpur.
The murder came within 10 days of the start of the movement that demanded capital punishment for war criminals.
Rajib, a Ganajagaran Mancha activist was an engineer by profession and wrote online against radical communal groups.
Police found that seven students of North South University killed Rajib, provoked by the radical teachings of Ansarullah Bangla Team chief Mufti Jasim Uddin Rahmani.
Following Rajib’s murder, Ansarullah Bangla Team’s involvement in killing other Ganajagaran Mancha activists, bloggers, writers and publishers came to light.
On Dec 31, 2015, Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 delivered its verdict on the Rajib murder case sentencing, Redwanul Azad Rana and Faisal Bin Nayeem Deep to death. Both Rana and Deep were former students of North South University and absconding. The court pronounced different prison terms for six others.
Maksudul Hasan Anik, sentenced to life in prison for killing Haider, had also been fined Tk 10,000.
Ehsan Reza Rumman, Nayeem Irad, and Nafiz Imtiaj were sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined Tk 5,000 each.
Ansarullah Bangla Team chief Mufti Jasim Uddin Rahmani had been named the ‘instigator’ of the crime in the case and given five years in jail.
The court sentenced Sadman Yasir Mahmud to three years in jail and fined him Tk 2,000.
On Apr 4, 2017, the High Court reserved its decision on the appeal against the lower court verdict on the case. Rajib’s father’s appeal to elevate the punishment of the jailed convicts was dismissed as he had no lawyer to represent him at the court hearing.
As the killers did not get capital punishment, a frustrated Dr Najim Uddin said he does not follow the case anymore.
“What’s the point of spending money only to know where the case is placed right now? It only gives us pain. We won’t get anything more in this life and we’re really exasperated with the legal process,” he said.
Redwanul Azad Rana, one of the two convicts sentenced to death, was not present at the scene, said Rajib’s father.
“Rana was in Malaysia. He was absconding when the verdict was announced. He was brought back from Malaysia seven days before the High Court verdict,” said the father.
He also said Rana was never remanded. Among the two men present at the scene, the one who hacked Rajib was given a death sentence and while his accomplice received life in prison, he said.
Rana gave the order to kill Rajib, but the mastermind behind Rana has yet to be identified, said Dr Najim Uddin.
Though he is dissatisfied with the verdict in Rajib’s murder case, Dr Najim Uddin said he was content with the verdicts in other blogger murder cases. “It is a relief to see all the convicts in Dipon and Abhijit’s murders have received death sentences.”
But he has not received justice for the murder of his son, he said. “It’s just a drama. I believe the death sentences given to the two convicts will not be executed once the verdict is reviewed.”
When asked why he did not raise an objection and appeal to elevate the punishment of the six convicts who got jail terms, Dr Najim Uddin said it would be a futile effort. He has also faced death threats over the case, he said.
“I went to a programme organised by Rajib’s colleagues commemorating the second anniversary of his death. Two bombs were detonated. That made the threat clear to me,” he said.
After the killing of Rajib Haider, several terror attacks and killings took place until 2016, targeting bloggers, writers, publishers, representatives of non-Islamic religions and free thought advocates.
Police have completed the investigations of at least 11 murder cases including those of Rajib Haider, Abhijit Roy and Niladri and indicted the criminals, said Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime Department chief Md Asaduzzaman.
“Among those, the court gave its verdict in three cases while the others are still at the trial phase.”
