A key suspect in the killings of Bangladesh gay rights activist Xulhaz Mannan and his friend has confessed to the crime to a magistrate in Dhaka.
Asadullah, who was arrested by law enforcers on Jan 15, has confessed before a magistrate that he along with four others took part in the 2016 killings.
The 25-year-old belongs to banned Islamist militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team. He used to operate under several aliases, including Fakhrul, Faisal, Jakir and Sadik, police said after the arrest.
On Thursday (Jan 24), Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mainul Islam recorded his confessional statement in his chambers.
The counter-terrorism unit of the Dhaka metro police produced him for recording the statement following a second spell of three-day remand.
In his statement, the suspect said they killed Xulhaz and his friend Khandoker Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy as they were working on homosexuality in Bangladesh which is not allowed here.
On Apr 25 2016, a group of assailants armed with machetes barged into Xulhaz’s apartment in Dhaka’s Kalabagan and hacked him to death along with Tonoy.
Their murders took place amid a series of executions carried out by extremists across the country that year.
Xulhaz, a 35-year-old programme officer with the USAID, was a cousin of current Education Minister Dipu Moni. He also worked as a protocol officer of former US Ambassador Dan Mozena.
Xulhaz also edited ‘Roopban’, the first magazine in the country advocating for LGBT rights. Tonoy, 26, was involved with the theatre group Lok Natyadal. He worked as a drama trainer for children at an organisation called 'Peoples Theatre'.
Police have now four suspected attackers, including Asadullah, in their custody and all of them have provided confessional testimonies in court.
Besides Asadullah, the others who have been arrested are Shams aka Siam aka Sajjad, Saimon aka Shahriar, Abdullah aka Jubair aka Zaid aka Jabed aka Abu Umair.
Following Asadullah’s arrest, Counterterrorism Unit chief Monirul Islam told the media that on the day of the killing, Asadullah came to Dhaka from Tongi.
There was a seven-member team and of them five entered Xulhaz’s apartment building. Of the five, three pretended to be delivery men carrying a fake parcel and went up the stairs to the flat.
Asadullah was one of the two men who attacked the apartment’s security guard using machetes, according to counter-terror chief Islam.
A patrolling police officer had snatched a bag from one of the assailants while trying to stop them from fleeing. A pistol and a long gun were found inside the bag along with ammunition and a cell phone.