The police have tightened security in the court premises in Dhaka ahead of a verdict in the murder case of Bangladesh LGBT rights activist Xulhaz Mannan and his friend Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy.
Judge Mojibur Rahman of the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal is set to deliver the verdict on Tuesday, having finished hearing arguments from the prosecution and the defence on Aug 23, reports Reuters.
Various security measures have been undertaken to ensure that there is no chaos in the court area following the verdict, Kotwali Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Mahbubur Rahman said.
The four arrested in the case were brought to the court premises around 9 am on Tuesday, said Mahbubur. The security measures were tightened while transporting the prisoners.
Xulhaz was hacked to death inside his flat at Kalabagan along with Tonoy in 2016.
The attack was one of a series of militant-linked assassinations of secular activists and religious minorities and claimed by the Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). Investigations found Islamist militants responsible for the killings of Xulhaz and Tonoy.
Inspector Muhammad Monirul Islam of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of police pressed charges against eight people in 2019.
Along with Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque, a sacked army officer and an Islamist militant leader, charges were pressed against Akram Hossain, Sabbirul Hoque Chowdhury, Moulana Zunaid Ahmed, Mozammel Hossain alias Saimon, Arafat Rahman, Sheikh Abdullah, and Asadullah.
Among them, Zia, Akram, Sabbirul and Junaid are on the run. Zia, Mozammel, Arafat and Akram were also accused in the case filed over the murder of writer and blogger Avijit Roy.
The investigators reported that all of them are members of the banned militant outfit Ansar al-Islam.
Among them, Zia, Akram, Mozammel and Sheikh Abdullah were condemned to death for the murder of publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan in 2015.