The Bangladeshi authorities announced yesterday, Saturday, that the death sentence was carried out by hanging on Sunday in a former officer convicted of the assassination of the country's founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in 1975, days after his arrest following a 25-year hunt.

Justice Minister Anis al-Haq told the French press that the prison administration had carried out the death sentence against the murderer on Saturday night, Sunday, after he rejected a presidential amnesty request.

For his part, Chief Inspector of Prisons Mustafa Kemal Pasha said in a statement that the death sentence was carried out against the former army captain Abdel Majid, following his arrest on April 7 in the capital, Dhaka.

Pasha added that the execution was carried out by hanging in the Kiranegani District Prison on Sunday, 01:00 local time (Saturday 18:01 GMT).

He explained that the perpetrator's wife and family visited him in prison before his death sentence was carried out.

Mujibur Rahman (the father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid who led Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan) was in power when he was assassinated along with most of his family on August 15, 1975.

Hasina Wajid, daughter of founder Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan (Reuters)

Provisions and escape
In 1998, the local judiciary sentenced to death about ten officers as part of this massacre, including Captain Abdul Majeed in absentia. The verdict was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2009, and the sentence was carried out on five convicts after months.

Abdul Majeed fled to India in 1996 and returned to Bangladesh last month, according to the police. He was arrested by the anti-terrorist police on Tuesday morning in Dhaka.

Bangladesh commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mujibur Rahman this year, but activities have been curtailed in this context due to the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Sheikh Hasina survived the massacre in 1975 because she was with her sister in Europe at the time.

In a video, the Minister of the Interior saw this week that Abdul Majeed's arrest was "the most beautiful gift for the centenary celebration" of Mujibur Rahman.

It took a long time to deal with the assassination of Mujibur Rahman, and this case continues to poison political life in Bangladesh.