Bangladesh’s apex court upholds death sentence for one, life terms for three in Saudi diplomat murder trial

DHAKA, Nov. 2 (NsNewsWire) — Bangladesh’s apex court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence for one person and life terms for three others in the murder case of Saudi diplomat Khalaf Al Ali, reports Xinhua.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) headed by Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, who is carrying out the duties of the chief justice, however, acquitted another in the sensational murder case.
The convict, whose death sentence was upheld, and three other convicts, who were sentenced to life imprisonment, are all behind the bars while the acquitted person is on the run.
According to sources, the convict is now left with the only option of seeking presidential clemency.
If the president rejects his pleas, the government will fix a date and prison authorities will start the process to execute the verdict.
Khalaf, 45, a second secretary at the Saudi embassy in Dhaka, was shot dead near his Gulshan house in Dhaka‘s diplomatic enclave in the wee hours of March 6, 2012.
Belying speculations about third-party role, Bangladesh police announced that Saudi diplomat’s murder was related to street crime.
This is the first time a foreign diplomat was murdered in the Muslim-majority nation, which enjoys good relations with Saudi Arabia where over 2 million workers from the South Asian nation are living and working.  Enditem