Tavella murder: 3 get life term, 4 acquitted

A Dhaka court yesterday  sentenced three people to life

imprisonment for the 2015 murder of Italian national Cesare Tavella in the capital's Gulshan diplomatic zone.

The convicts -- Tamjid Ahmed Rubel alias "Mobile" Rubel, Russell Chowdhury alias "Bhagne" Russell, and Minhajul Arefin -- were also fined Tk 50,000 each. In default of payment, they will serve one additional year in jail.

Judge Sheikh Samidul Islam of the Third Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court delivered the verdict in the presence of five of the accused.

The court acquitted four others -- BNP leader MA Quayum, his brother Abdul Matin, Shakhawat Hossain Sharif, and Sohel alias "Bhangari" Sohel.

Tamjid, Russell, Minhaj, and Sharif are in jail, while Matin is out on bail. Quayum and Sohel remain absconding.

The verdict comes nearly nine years after Tavella, 50, a project manager with the Netherlands-based ICCO Cooperation's food security programme (Proofs), was shot dead on September 28, 2015, while jogging in Gulshan diplomatic zone.

The killing drew international attention after the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility, according to US-based SITE Intelligence Group. However, Bangladeshi police and the then-home minister rejected the claim.

Later, Rab, citing documents found at suspected "Neo JMB" hideouts, claimed that the militant group was behind Tavella's murder.

According to Rab, the killing topped a list of 19 attacks carried out by the outfit under the leadership of Shaykh Abu Ibrahim Al Hanif, who was killed in a Rab raid in Ashulia on October 8, 2016.

Several top DMP officials said the murder was part of a plot to create unrest, pressure the government, and send a message that foreigners were not safe in Bangladesh.

The Detective Branch submitted the charge sheet on June 28, 2016.

According to the charge sheet, Sohel supplied the firearms, and Sharif arranged the motorcycle used in the killing. Matin, known as "Boro Bhai", was accused of hiring three assailants to target a "white man", with Tavella becoming the victim.

Matin also allegedly hired Bhagne Russell for Tk 5 lakh to shoot and injure any foreigner in Gulshan to create panic in the area, according to a confessional statement recorded on November 5, 2015.