Dhaka - Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a High Court verdict that confirmed the death sentences of 12 former military officers for the assassination of the country's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, dismissing appeals filed by five of the convicts.

After hearing the appeals for 29 days filed by five condemned convicts challenging death sentences, a special bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Tafazzul Islam delivered the verdict in a crowded court amid heightened security, state counsel Anisul Haq said after the court handed down the judgement.

Five of those convicted are on death row in Dhaka Central Jail while the rest have absconded abroad.

Mujibur, one of the independence heroes of Bangladesh, was killed along with most of his family in a military putsch on August 15, 1975. (dpa)