BANGLADESH: TWO ISLAMISTS ORDERED HANGED FOR MACHETE MURDER OF PROFESSOR
May 8, 2018: Two Islamists were sentenced to be hanged for the murder of a Bangladesh university professor who was hacked to death with a machete two years ago, a prosecutor said. Rezaul Karim Siddique, an English literature professor and prominent secular activist, was killed near his home in Rajshahi city in April 2016. One of the two ordered to be hanged was a student from Siddique's department at Rajshahi University, Shariful Islam, who is currently on the run. Charges were pressed in 2016 against eight young men, including Siddique's English literature student. Prosecutor Entajul Haque said a fast track court in Rajshahi convicted five of the eight defendants of murder, ordering executions for two and life imprisonment for three others. "The judge said the two will be hanged to death. The key convict is absconding and he was sentenced in absentia," he told AFP. Haque said all five accused belong to the banned Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which police said had no international links. (Sources, AFP, 08/05/2018)
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