Special Correspondent
Dhaka, Feb 04 – The Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal of Dhaka on Thursday fixed February 16 to deliver the judgment in the blogger and writer Avijit Roy murder case. Judge Md Majibur Rahman of the tribunal set the date as the arguments in the case, filed in February 2015, concluded on Wednesday.
The defence sought acquittal of their clients from the case. The six accused are members of the banned militant outfit Ansar al Islam. They are Sayed Mohammad Ziaul Haque alias Maj (sacked) Zia, Akram Hossain Abir, Mozammel Hossain Saymon, Abu Siddiq Sohel, Arafat Rahman Siam and Shafiur Rahman Farabi.
Law enforcers are yet to arrest accused Zia and Akram as they are on the run. The rest of the accused are in jail.
Earlier, 28 prosecution witnesses, including Avijit's father late Prof Ajoy Roy, testified on December 9, 2019, in the tribunal.
On February 26, 2015, US-based Bangladeshi blogger Avijit Roy and his wife Rafida Ahmed Bonya were attacked with sharp weapons near TSC of Dhaka University by a gang of assailants when the couple was walking out of the Ekushey Book Fair around 8:30 pm.
Professor Ajoy filed the murder case accusing unidentified assailants with Shahbagh Police Station the next day. Bonya is now living in the United States. She suffered severe injuries when she tried to protect her husband from the attackers.
