Bangladesh police arrest suspect in 1981 killing of former president

Bangladesh police said they arrested on 16 July a retired military officer accused of involvement in the assassination of former president Ziaur Rahman more than four decades ago.

Ziaur Rahman was killed in 1981 during a military coup. After his assassination, a martial law court convicted 18 military officers of murdering him, although the defence argued that they had not received a fair trial. Thirteen of them were later executed by hanging.

Police identified the arrested suspect as Md Mozaffar Hossain. Md Shafiqul Islam, chief of the police Detective Branch, said Hossain had been a fugitive since Rahman was assassinated and was detained on 16 July. Police said he was arrested shortly after landing in Dhaka.

Authorities had offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to Hossain's arrest. Islam said Hossain had left Bangladesh immediately after the coup attempt and had remained abroad since then. He also said Hossain explained his role in the assassination during interrogation.

Rahman, whose son Tarique Rahman is now Bangladesh's prime minister, became president in 1977 after the assassination of Bangladesh's founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. His four-year presidency was marked by dozens of coup attempts.

The circumstances of Rahman's assassination remain unclear. He was killed while visiting Chattogram, where he had gone to resolve a crisis inside his newly formed political party.