DHAKA: Seven Islamist extremists were sentenced to death in Bangladesh on Wednesday over a savage attack at a Dhaka cafe in 2016 that killed 22 people, mostly foreigners.A special anti-terrorism tribunal delivered the verdict in a crowded courtroom in the capital, with judge Mojibur Rahman saying the attackers wanted “to draw the attention of (the) Islamic State” group.The brazen assault in July 2016 saw young men armed with assault rifles and machetes lay siege to the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in Dhaka’s well-heeled Gulshan neighbourhood. After a 10-hour standoff’ military commandos stormed the eatery and freed more than two dozen hostages.The extremists wanted to “undermine public safety, create anarchy and “establish a Jihad(ist) state”, the judge said, adding that the seven “will be executed by hanging until they are pronounced dead”.Nine Italians and seven Japanese were among the 18 foreigners to be hacked or shot dead in the attack, while two policemen also died. All five militants were killed when the military stormed the cafe,which was popular with Westerners.Eight others—including mastermind Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, a Canadian of Bangladesh descent—were killed during raids in Dhaka and its suburbs months after the attack.Counter-terrorism police said 19-year-old Rohan Imtiaz led the attack. The attacks were claimed by IS but the government blamed a local militant group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and said their commanders were among the dead.University of Oslo researcher Mubashar Hasan called the verdict “a milestone”, saying he hoped it would “give some sort of closure to the victims”. Defence lawyer Dalwar Hossain said there would be an appeal, claiming police had extracted confessions through torture. An eighth man who had been charged was acquitted. The IS-linked news agency Amaq however published extensive details of the attack, including photos from inside the café.—AFP
11-28-2019, 12:02 PM
7 sentenced to death for Bangladesh cafe attack
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