Bangladesh hangs 5 who killed founder in 1975 coup

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh executed five former soldiers Thursday for killing the country's independence leader in a 1975 military coup, authorities said.

The men were hanged early Thursday inside Dhaka Central Jail, prison official Brig. Gen. Mohammad Ashraful Islam Khan said.

They were hanged one after another, and the executions took only 30 minutes, private TV station ATN Bangla said.

Hours before their executions, the men were allowed to meet with their family members inside the jail amid tight security, the station reported.

Witnesses said roads around the jail in central Dhaka were closed to traffic hours before the executions.

The Aug. 15, 1975 military coup culminated in the killing of Bangladesh's leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh's independence war against Pakistan in 1971. Before independence, Bangladesh was part of Pakistan.

Rahman went on to become the new country's first leader. But he and most of his family and close aides were gunned down at his Dhaka residence during the coup.

The coup leaders were given indemnity by subsequent military rulers, and they were only put on trial when Rahman's daughter, Sheikh Hasina, became prime minister in 1996. Hasina and her younger sister, Rehana, survived the coup because they were touring Europe at the time.

In 1998, a Dhaka court sentenced the five ex-soldiers to death in Rahman's killing. Their plea to commute the penalty was rejected by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, clearing the way for their execution, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed told reporters.

Six others who were also convicted are fugitives abroad, government attorney Mahbube Alam said. Another convicted man died in exile in Libya, he said.