Staff Reporter: The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday upheld the death penalty awarded to Asadul Islam Arif, a member of banned outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), rejecting the review petition to revoke the death sentence in two Jhalakathi judges murder case. A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order. Senior Assistant Judges Sohel Ahmed and Jagannath Pare were killed in a suicide bomb attack at Purba Chadkati of Jhalakathi town on 14 November, 2005. Attcker Iftekhar Hossain Mamun, Abdul Mannan, a court employee, and Badshah Mia, a milkman, were also injured in the attacks. A Jhalakathi court on May 29, 2006 delivered death penalty to seven leaders of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). They were founder Shykh Abdur Rahman, its military head Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, its majlish-e-shura members Ataur Rahman Sunny, Abdul Awal and Khaled Saifullah, suicide attacker Iftekhar Hasan Al Mamun and Asadul Islam Arif. All the convicts except Asadul Islam Arif were executed on March 29, 2007. Asadul, who was absconding, was arrested on July 10 in 2007. He filed the petition with the SC this year seeking review of its judgment. Now Arif has the opportunity to seek Presidential clemency. If rejected, the government will order the jail authority to hang him.
