Expressing anger over the killing of a prosecution witness in war crimes convict Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee's case, Sammilita Sangskritik Jote yesterday demanded that the government ensure security for all involved in the prosecution.

Mostafa Hawlader, 55, who testified against Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Delawar Hossain Sayedee, died from his injuries on Tuesday, two days after being hacked in his sleep at his Pirojpur home.

Addressing a gathering outside Dhaka University's Teacher-Student Centre, the jote also urged the government to financially assist Mostafa's family and demanded that the perpetrators be arrested and handed down exemplary punishment. "The state failed in its responsibility to ensure the safety," said the jote General Secretary Golam Quddus.

"Hawlader risked his life but it is a shame we could not save him," said the jote President Nasir Uddin Yousuff.

The jote later brought out a procession carrying black flags which ended at the Central Shaheed Minar premises.