7 Bangladeshi Islamists sentenced to death for 2016 Dhaka cafe attack
- Five young militants armed with guns, sharp weapons and grenades stormed the Holey Artisan cafe, took diners hostage and killed them over 12 hours
- Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among those killed before army commandos stormed the cafe and killed the attackers
“Charges against them were proved beyond any doubt. The court gave them the highest punishment,” public prosecutor Golam Sarwar Khan told reporters after the verdict, amid tight security at the court in the capital, Dhaka. One of the eight accused was acquitted, he added.
A defence lawyer said the convicted men would appeal.
Bangladesh clamps down on social media, vows ‘tough legal action’ after Dhaka siege
After the ruling, they shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is Greatest) and “We did nothing wrong” from the dock to a packed courtroom, witnesses said. Two wore prayer caps bearing the insignia of Islamic State (Isis).
The July 1 attack on the restaurant popular with foreigners in Dhaka’s diplomatic area shocked the nation of 160 million and unnerved businesses, including the vital garment exports sector and foreign investors.
Five young militants, armed with guns, sharp weapons and grenades stormed the Holey Artisan cafe, took diners hostage and killed them over 12 hours. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among the dead. The attackers were also killed in a rescue bid by army commandos.
Prosecutor Khan said the seven men convicted on Wednesday were involved in planning the attack. They belong to Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, a group that seeks to establish sharia rule in the predominantly Muslim country.
“The ruling will set an example. It will give a message to militant groups that none of them will be spared,” Law Minister Anisul Huq said.
Charges against them were proved beyond any doubt. The court gave them the highest punishment
“We are happy that justice has been served,” said Shamsuzzaman Shams, whose policeman brother was killed when he tried to enter the cafe to foil the attackers, adding: “We want immediate execution of the ruling.”
Dhaka cafe siege shows fault lines of Bangladesh’s long history of political strife
But defence lawyer Delwar Hossain said all seven men convicted on Wednesday will challenge the verdict in a higher court. “They didn’t get justice,” he said.
Police said a faction of Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, which has pledged allegiance to Isis, was involved in organising the cafe attack.
In the year before the atrocity, Bangladesh saw a string of grisly individual murders, including of secular writers and foreigners.
