Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal today said that the court has sentenced five people, including Zia and Akram, to death and another to life term imprisonment for killing Blogger Avijit Roy.
"The court has given death sentence to five convicts including the sacked army official Sayed Ziaul Haque alias Major Zia and Akram Hussain and another one to life term imprisonment over killing of Blogger Avijit Roy," he said.
The minister was talking to reporters after inaugurating the Freedom Fighters sculpture in front of Harirampur Upazila Parishad premises in Manikganj.
Expressing satisfaction over the court's verdict in Avijit Roy's murder, he said it has been properly investigated. "We are hunting for Zia and Akram who are hiding abroad. The verdict will be executed by arresting them as soon as possible. We are continuing our efforts in this regard," he added.
Dhaka-20 Constituency law maker Benjir Ahmed, Manikganj-1 Constituency lawmaker A M Naimur Rahman Durjoy, Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Abdul Latif, Superintendent of Police Mohammad Golam Azad Khan, Manikganj Zila Parishad Chairman Advocate Golam Mohiuddin and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Harirampur Saiful Islam, were present, among others, on the occasion.
On February 26, 2015, Avijit and his wife Rafida Bonya Ahmed, both Bangladesh-born US citizens, were visiting Dhaka to attend Ekushay book fair when they were attacked by assailants with machetes.
Avijit was killed and Bonya survived with critical injuries.
A total of six individuals were charged, tried, and convicted while two of them Syed Ziaul Haque (AKA Major Zia) and Akram Hussain were tried in absentia and remain at large.
Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a militant group (now banned in Bangladesh), later claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, Dhaka today welcomed the $5 million reward declared by the US Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service for information on the attack that left US citizen Avijit Roy dead and his wife, Bonya, seriously injured here.
