Aug 17 series blasts: HC commutes death of 2 JMB men

The High Court today commuted the death sentences of two activists of the banned Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh to life imprisonment in a case filed for their involvement in the series bomb blasts in Shariatpur on August 17, 2005.

The bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Md Jahangir Hossain passed the order after hearing the death reference of the case and the appeals filed by the convicts challenging their conviction and sentence handed down by the trial court.

The HC commuted the death sentences of JMB activists Kamruzzaman alias Swapan, now 31, and Malek Bepari alias Malek Zehadi, now 32, to life imprisonment considering that they have been in jail custody for long 12 years, and there was no casualty in the incident of bomb blasts in Shariatpur and they were very young during the incident on August 17, 2015, said Advocate Md Abu Hanif, a defence lawyer for the convicts.

He said both Kamruzzaman and Malek, who are now in a Kashimpur jail, have to suffer in jail for 30 years from the date of their arrest, as the HC did not say that their imprisonment is until death.

As part of its countrywide terror campaign, the JMB on August 17 in 2005 simultaneously blasted several bombs at the office of Shariatpur deputy commissioner, court premises, in front of Dak Bungalow and in Palong Bazar area of the district. That day, the banned militant outfit exploded bombs in 63 districts out of 64.

Following the blasts, Badruzzaman, a sub-inspector of Shariatpur Sadar Police Station, filed a case against some unidentified people.

Later, investigation officer of the case Kamal Hossain submitted the charge sheet accusing the two along with the then JMB chief Shaikh Abdur Rahman and its operations commander Siddikul Islam alias Bangla Bhai.

Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai were among the six militants executed in March 2007 for killing two Jhalakathi judges.

A Shariatpur court on January 28, 2013, sentenced Kamruzzaman and Malek to death in the case.

The death reference of the case reached the HC in seven days from Shariatpur court for examining the death sentences and the convicts then filed appeals with the HC challenging the lower court verdict. 

Source: thedailystar