The death row convicts of the cafe attack in Gulshan will challenge the lower court verdict sentence, said the defence counsel.
Delwar Hossain, the defence counsel told the media at the Dhaka court premises on Wednesday (Nov 27) that they are not satisfied with the lower court's verdict.
“We were hopeful that the accused will be freed from the case as the state didn’t able to present reliable witnesses. But now we are not satisfied over the verdict. We will challenge the verdict,” he said,
Earlier in the day, the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal Judge Md Majibur Rahman sentenced seven of the eight accused to death.
The convicts are Rashedul Islam alias Rash, one of the planners, Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, recruiter of the attackers, Sohel Mahfuz, supplier of grenades, Rakibul Hasan Regan, a so-called religious trainer, and Hadisur Rahman Sagar, suppliers of arms and Shariful Islam Khaled, and Mamunur Rashid Ripon.
The eighth accused Mizanur Rahman alias Baro Mizan was acquitted as the charges against him couldn’t be proved.
Three-and-half years ago in 2016, the Holey Artisan Bakery and Café was stormed by five young men who held the people hostage and killed 22 people.
Five attackers – Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Saameh Mubasser, Khairul Islam and Shafiqul Islam – were all killed in the Operation Thunderbolt that the Para Commando Battalion launched at the bakery on the morning of July 2.
Middle East-based terror group Islamic State 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.
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.
In addition to the five killed in the commando operation, eight others were killed in separate terror raids.
The trial began on November 26, 2018, after charges were framed against the eight militants.
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