Bangladeshi Court Convicts Two Men for Murder of Atheist Blogger

Faisal bin Nayem and Rezwanul Azad Rana sentenced to death for 2013 killing of Ahmed Rajib Haider in a machete attack



Bangladesh police officials escort some of those accused in the murder of blogger and secular activist Ahmed Rajib Haider following a verdict at a court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday. Photo: Suvra Kanti Das/Zuma Press

By Syed Zain Al-Mahmood
Dec. 31, 2015 10:56 a.m. ET

DHAKA, Bangladesh—A Bangladeshi court sentenced two men to death and jailed half a dozen others on Thursday over the 2013 murder of an atheist blogger who had been critical of Islam, amid fears of growing Muslim radicalization in the South Asia country following a string of brutal killings there.

A fast-track tribunal convicted Faisal bin Nayem and Rezwanul Azad Rana, both students at a prestigious private university in Dhaka, of killing 35-year-old Ahmed Rajib Haider in a machete attack near his home in February 2013.

Prosecutors said the convicted men are members of Ansarullah Bangla Team, also known as Ansar Bangla, a banned Islamist militant group with links to international jihadist networks.

Prosecutor Mahbubur Rahman said the state had proved the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. Faruque Ahmed, a defense lawyer, said the defendants were unjustly convicted and said they would appeal. They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/bangladeshi-court-convicts-two-men-for-murder-of-atheist-blogger-1451577416