Dhaka jail killings verdict delay

The four politicians were associates of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

A Bangladeshi court has again delayed a verdict on the killing of four national leaders in Dhaka Central Jail almost 30 years after they died.

The court ruled that the verdicts could not be given until evidence is provided by a policeman who first investigated the case.

The victims were senior ministers in the cabinet of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's first president.

They were killed less than three months after he was assassinated in 1975.

Protracted arguments

Earlier this month the trial, which has suffered multiple delays, was adjourned because the judge was ill.

The verdicts were postponed on Tuesday because the judge overseeing the case accepted a petition from one of the defendants that the police officer who first examined the case should be required to give evidence in court.

The judge ordered that the police officer, Saifuddin Ahmed, should be presented before the court on 29 September.

Correspondents say that the court's ruling will result in more protracted legal arguments, which means a verdict in the case could still be some time off.

A large security operation was put in place ahead of the judge's ruling.

Among the 23 people initially charged are leading politicians and military officers.

Charges against former President Khandaker Mushtaque Ahmed and former civil servant Mahbubul Alam Chashi were dropped because they and another defendant died before legal proceedings began.

Twelve other defendants are at large outside the country, five are on bail and three are remanded in custody.

Correspondents say that three decades later, the murders of 1975 still provoke strong emotions in Bangladesh.

The main opposition Awami League has accused the government of dragging its feet in bringing the perpetrators of the crime to justice.

Key ministers

The four politicians - Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Mansur Ali and AHM Qamaruzzman - were all members of the Awami League.

The case was opened when Sheikh Hasina took office in 1996

Trial proceedings began after Sheikh Mujib's daughter, Sheikh Hasina, led her Awami League party to power in 1996.

The court heard that the four leaders were killed when they refused to join the government of President Mushtaque Ahmed.

The families of the murdered men have accused the government of interfering in the trial process to save some of the accused, which the government denies.

Correspondents say that the differences of opinion over the murders reflects the contrasting stances of the country's two main political parties towards the trial.

Elements within the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party - led by Khaleda Zia, whose husband, Ziaur Rahman, was also assassinated as president - complain that other political murders were earlier ignored by the authorities.