A court in Dhaka has handed death penalty to seven people and acquitted one over the 2016 terror attack in Dhaka’s Gulshan that left 24 people, including 17 foreigners dead.
Dhaka Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal Judge Md Mujibur Rahman delivered the verdict on Wednesday (Nov 27), confirmed Public Prosecutor Golam Sarwar Khan.
The convicts are: Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, Rakibul Hasan Regan, Rashedul Islam alias Rash, Sohel Mahfuz, Hadisur Rahman Sagar, Shahidul Islam Khaled and Mamunur Rashid Ripon.
Mizanur Rahman who had been charged with delivering arms and explosives used in the attack has been acquitted as the charges against him could not be proven.
The judge read out the verdict on Wednesday around 12 pm after the suspects were brought to the Old Dhaka court from the Keraniganj Central Jail amid heavy security.
On Nov 17, the special tribunal fixed Nov 27 to deliver its verdict in the case after concluding the trial following arguments by the defence and the closing statement by the prosecution.
On the night of Jul 1, 2016, a group of five young men stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant at the upscale neighbourhood of Gulshan and taking the people inside them hostage.
Two police officers died after being injured in grenade attacks carried out by the attackers when they approached the eatery.
The militants killed twenty diners that included Italian, Japanese, Indian and Bangladeshi citizens and two police officers throughout the night.
The Italian citizens killed were Nadia Beenidetti, Vincenzo D'Allestro, Claudia Maria D'Antona, Simona Monti, Maria Riboli, Adele Puglisi, Claudio Cappelli, Christian Rossi and Marco Tondat.
Seven Japanese victims, all of whom were working on the metro-rail project are: Koyo Ogasawara, Makoto Okamura, Yuko Sakai, Rui Shimodaira, Hiroshi Tanaka, Nobuhiro Kurosaki, and Hideki Hashimoto.
Tarishi Jain an Indian national along with Bangladeshi citizens Ishrat Akhond, Abinta Kabir and Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain were killed in the attack.
After a 12-hour siege, army commandoes stormed the restaurant on Jul 2 morning and rescued 13 hostages.
The five Neo-JMB operatives Nibras Islam, Mir Sabeh Mubashir, Rohan Imtiaz, Khairul Islam Payel and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal—-were killed in the commando operation.
Middle East-based terror group Islamic State had reportedly claimed credit for the attack but the government and security officials have blamed Neo-JMB, an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh for the deadly siege.
The attack served as a wake-up call for militancy in the country and forced a significant change in Bangladesh.
Two years after the attack, on Jul 23 2018, Dhaka metro police's Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit identified 21 suspects connected to the attack and submitted charges against the eight living suspects.
Eight others including the mastermind Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, café attack coordinator Nurul Islam Marzan, a top operative of mainstream JMB, financier Sarwar Jahan, trainer Major (retd) Jahidul Islam, software engineer Basharuzzaman Chocolate, top JMB operative Abu Raihan Tari; banker and financier Tanvir Kader; and grenade supplier Mizanur Rahman alias Chhoto Mizan, were killed during various security force operations and were recommended to be dropped from the case.
According to the charge sheet, neo-JMB militants had planned the attack for six months. Their intention was to create ‘unrest’ in Bangladesh and transform it into a ‘terrorist state’.
The trial began on Nov 26 last year with the indictment of the eight suspects.
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