Bangladesh court delivers death sentence to 15 in far-reaching murder case

The Bangladesh High Court has upheld death sentences for 15 people involved in the murder of seven victims in Narayanganj.

A lower court had sentenced 26 people to death in relation to the case but, on review by the High Court, 11 were commuted.

Seven people, including the then Narayanganj City Panel Mayor Nazrul Islam, were abducted on 27 April 2014. Their bodies were later found in the Shitalakkhya River.

Several high-ranking officials from the Rapid Action Battalion, an elite anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police, were implicated in the ordering and execution of the killings.

They are amongst the suspects sentenced to capital punishment.