Three convicts sentenced to death for the killing of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) leader Kazi Aref Ahmed are to be executed tonight at Jessore Central Jail.

All preparations for the executions of death-row inmates Safayat Hossain Habib, Anwar Hossain, and Rasedul Islam Jhantu have been completed, said Senior Jail Superintendent Sajahan Ahmed of Jessore.

Liberation War organiser Kazi Aref along with four Kushtia JSD unit leaders were killed in a rally in Kalidaspur of Daulatpur on February 16, 1999.

The convicts sprayed him with bullets as he was about to leave the podium after his speech.

Kushtia district JSD unit President Lokman Hossain, its General Secretary Yakub Ali, and activists Israil Hossain and Shamser Mandal were killed while attempting to protect Aref.

On August 30, 2004, the additional sessions judge of Kushtia gave the death penalty to 10 accused and sentenced 11 to life imprisonment in the case.