It's not enough

It was a long battle of a father.

His son was brutally killed almost three years ago. To get justice for the murder, he had to endure threats and tremendous pressure from different quarters.

On many occasions, Nazim Uddin had to go to the court secretly, taking different routes and sometimes with others. But nothing could deter him from seeking justice.

Yesterday, his hopes were dashed when the court delivered the verdict in the murder case.

“I'm not satisfied with the verdict. It's an incomplete judgment,” said the father of slain blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider.

Rajib used to write against Jamaat-Shibir and war criminals on different blogs under the pseudo name of Thaba Baba. He was hacked to death near his house in the capital's Pallabi on February 15, 2013.

The court handed down death penalties to two accused and sentenced six others, including the chief of banned Islamist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team Mufti Jasimuddin Rahmani, to different jail terms for the killing.

“They [accused] are self-proclaimed killers. At least five of them confessed to the killing. Despite that, they were not given capital punishment. I can't accept this,” said Nazim.

Rajib was one of the key organisers of the Shahbagh movement, which was launched on February 5, 2013. After his killing, online Jamaat-Shibir activists and some pro-Jamaat and BNP newspapers tried to brand him as an atheist.

Besides, a smear campaign was carried out against bloggers terming them atheists. Four secular bloggers and a publisher of a slain blogger were killed by suspected militants last year.

Nazim said the killers of his son even described how they had carried out the killing. But the accused killers of the other bloggers are yet to be arrested.

“Since we didn't get the right verdict in this case, we can't expect justice for other killings,” he added.

He said former Chhatra Shibir activist Redwanul Azad Rana had planned Rajib's murder, but law enforcers could not arrest him yet.

Nazim said he would file an appeal with the High Court challenging the lower court's verdict.

Prof Ajoy Roy, father of slain writer-blogger Avijit Roy, stressed the need for execution of the verdict.

“As the verdict has been delivered, the punishment should be executed after completion of all the legal procedures promptly. Then people will find some solace,” he told a private TV channel.

Prof Abul Quasem Fazlul Huq, father of slain publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan, said if the criminals were tried, the number such crimes might go down.

He also underscored the need for ensuring social justice to all so that such crimes don't recur.