A Dhaka court is set to deliver the verdict on eight members of banned militant group Ansar al-Islam, including its military wing commander and sacked major Syed Md Ziaul Huq, in a case filed over the murders of LGBT activist Xulhaz Mannan and his associate Mahbub Rabby Tonoy in 2016.
Judge Md Majibur Rahman of the Dhaka Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal set the date on completion of arguments from the prosecution and defence on August 23.
The tribunal’s Public Prosecutor Ghulam Sarwar Khan Zakir told Dhaka Tribune the verdict would be delivered around 12:00pm.
The seven other accused are: Akram Hossain, Sabbirul Haque Chowdhury, Md Zunaid Ahmad alias Maulana Zuned alias Zunaid, Mozammel Husain alias Saimon, Md Arafat Rahman, Md Sheikh Abdullah, and Asadullah alias Fakrul alias Faisal.
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Among the accused, Zia, Akram, Sabbirul and Zunaid are still absconding while the rest are in custody.
The tribunal recorded statements of 24 prosecution witnesses in the case filed with Kalabagan police station.
On July 28, 2019, the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police submitted the charge sheet against the eight militants.
Of the accused, Saimon, Arafat, Abdullah and Faisal have given confession statements before magistrates on different dates.
According to case documents, Xulhaz was hacked to death inside his apartment at Kalabagan along with Tonoy on April 25, 2016.
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The attack was one of a series of militant-linked assassinations of secular activists and religious minorities perpetrated by Ansar al-Islam from 2013 to 2016.
A graduate in international relations from Dhaka University, the 35-year-old Xulhaz joined the US Embassy in 2007 before taking up what would turn out to be his last assignment at USAID. He also edited Roopbaan, Bangladesh’s first LGBT magazine.
Tonoy, 26, was involved with the Lok Natyadal theatre group. He taught drama to children at an organisation called the Peoples Theatre.
After the killings, Xulhaz Mannan’s brother Minhaz Mannan filed the case against unidentified assailants.
