The High Court has upheld the death sentence for four members of the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) for the 2015 murder of Japanese national Kunio Hoshi.
The bench of Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman and Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon upheld the trial court order after hearing the appeal petitions of the convicts on Wednesday.
The court also acquitted another convict, Ishak Ali, for lack of evidence.
The four convicts are JMB regional commander Masud Rana alias Mamun, 21, Liton Mia alias Rafique, 23, Shakhawat Hossain, 32, and Ahsan Ullah Ansari alias Biplob, 24.
Of them, Ahsan Ullah, a student of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur was tried in absentia.
Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed appeared for the state while advocate Ahsan Ullah and Shamsul Islam represented the convicts in the High Court.
On February 28, 2017, Rangpur Special Judge Naresh Chandra Sarkar sentenced the five JMB men to death in connection with the murder of the Japanese national. They were also fined Tk20,000 each.
Later, the convicts filed appeal petitions before the High Court against the trial court judgment.
The police pressed charges against seven members of JMB in connection with the murder on July 10, 2016.
Of them, Nazrul Islam alias Hassan alias Bike Hassan of Panchagarh and Saddam Hossain alias Rahul alias Chanchal alias Sabuj alias Robi of Rajshahi died in separate “gunfights” in Rajshahi and Dhaka's Mohammadpur area, respectively, in 2016.
Kunio, 65, was gunned down near his farmhouse at Kachu Alutary in Kaunia upazila of Rangpur on October 3, 2015.
