The Bangladesh Supreme Court in Dhaka has upheld the execution of the man charged with the 2012 killing of Saudi diplomat Khalaf Al Ali.
Khalaf, 45, a Second Secretary at the Saudi embassy in the capital Dhaka, was shot down near his residence in the city's diplomatic enclave on March 6. It was the first case of a murder of a foreign diplomat in Bangladesh.
Saif ul Islam Mamun, the main perpetrator in the murder, filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against his death sentence after the court upheld the ruling in November last year, together with the life sentences of three others convicted in the murder.
In 2013, the High Court sentenced Mamun to death. Rafiqul Islam, Mohammad Al Amin and Akbar Ali Lalu were sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in the killing.
On Monday, a four-member bench of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, ruled on the verdict for Mamun.
He is now only left with the option of presidential clemency if he is to avoid execution. If the president rejects a plea, the government will announce the date of his execution.
The country’s Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said: “Now, there is no bar towards executing the verdict against convict Saiful Islam Mamun.”
Khalaf Al Ali had served for two years as head of citizens' affairs and was living alone in his apartment and used to go on walks every night. Earlier in his career, he worked in Azerbaijan for seven years. He was set to take up a posting in Jordan.
More than two million Bangladeshi workers are working in Saudi Arabia, which is a key ally of the South Asian country and a major donor.
In October 2011, Saudi Arabia executed eight Bangladeshi workers in public for involvement in armed robbery. Dhaka and the United Nations criticised the beheading.
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UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
Name: Colm McLoughlin
Country: Galway, Ireland
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1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
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