Thirty-four years after Bangladesh's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in a military coup, the country's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence on five of his killers.Pronouncing the verdict after a trial that dragged on for 13 years, Justice M Tafazzal Islam, who headed a five-member bench, said, they find no cogent ground to interfere with the judgement order of the High Court. Seven others, who are absconding, were also convicted to hang by the apex court. One of them has been confirmed by the Foreign Office to have died in Zimbabwe recently. The apex court upheld the death sentence awarded to 12 of the killers by a lower court in 1998. The five, who will face the gallows, are sacked army officers Lt Col Syed Faruq Rahman, Sultan Shariar Rashid Khan, Mohiuddin Ahmed, AKM Mohiuddin and ex-Maj Bazlul Huda.Sheikh Mujib, popularly called Bangabandhu, who led Bangladesh to independence in 1971, was gunned down at his home in a posh Dhanmandi area, along with his wife and three sons in a coup on August 15, 1975. Sheikh Hasina was abroad at that time.A total of 20 people, including domestic staff, were killed when the Army officers stormed into his house, but the murder charges have been brought forward only for the killing of Sheikh Mujib.AIR correspondent C. Senthil reports from Dhaka that the judgement of the Supreme Court upholding the death sentence of the people involved in the Bangabandhu murder case has been hailed as a landmark in the history of Bangladesh. Twelve persons were sentenced to death by the High Court for the August 15th 1975, killing of Sheikh Mujibir Rehman and his family members. Among the convicts five of the people who appealed are in prison while the other seven are absconding. The Bangladesh government hopes to also bring back the seven fugitives with the help of Interpol. The case itself reached thecourts only in 1996, nearly two decades after the murder when Sheikh Hasina’s government revoked the infamous indeminity ordinance which provided immunity to the people involved in the killing. Attorney general Mahbubey Alam called Thursday's judgment "epoch-making and said that it will be remembered as one of the greatest trials in the history of mankind. The Defence counsel is now planning to file a petition to review the rejection of the appeal. If the review petition fails, then the convicts will have the last option of seeking clemency from the President.