Twelve years after the killing of journalist Manik Chandra Saha, a speedy tribunal in Khulna yesterday sentenced nine people to life in prison in the murder case.

The court also fined each of the convicts Tk 10,000 and if they failed to pay, they would have to serve an additional year.

Family members of the Ekushey Padak winner, however, expressed frustration over the verdict yesterday.

In his immediate reaction, Manik Saha's younger brother Pradip Kumar Saha said the verdict was unacceptable.

“We had hoped that the court would deliver the highest punishment,” he said.

The convicts are: Akram Hosain Hawladar, Ali Akbar Shikdar alias Shaon, Nuruzzaman, Mithun, Suman, Sattar alias Disco Sattar, Bellal alias Bulbul, Saka alias Sakawat Hossain, and Sarwar Hossain alias Saro.

Of them, Mithun, Suman, Sattar, Sakawat, and Sarwar are on the run.

Accused Hai Islam and Omar Faruk were acquitted.

A total of 14 people were accused in the case. Of them, Abur Rashid, Altaf and Mahfuz were killed in “crossfire” incidents.

The case had been reinvestigated and had remained dormant for a long time due to lack of witnesses.

President of Khulna Union of Journalist (KUJ) SM Jahid Hossain said they thought the culprits would be handed down the death sentence. “We're frustrated,” he said.

Public Prosecutor Enamul Haque expressed satisfaction. “We're happy that after a long time, the trial has ended and the culprits have been handed down punishments.”

Born in Narail in 1956, Manik Saha began his career as Khulna district correspondent of the Bangla daily Sangbad in 1982. Before that, he was involved in left politics.

Manik Saha was an ex-president of Khulna Press Club and had also worked for the New Age, Ekushey TV, and the BBC.

On January 14, 2004, Manik was returning home from Khulna Press Club on a rickshaw.

Someone stopped his rickshaw and moments later the entire area was shaking in bomb blasts. He was found with his head smashed and almost decapitated.

The trial began in June 2008.

Ekushey Padak (posthumous) winner Manik Saha is one among the 27 journalists and freelancers who have been killed since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

“The positive side is we've got justice after 12 long years. The negative aspect is that the culprits were handed down lenient punishments,” said Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, president of a fraction of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalist (BFUJ).

The journalist society did not expect it. “It proves how justice delayed is justice denied.”

“We're afraid that if other journalist killing cases are delayed, real culprits will go unpunished,” he said.