Holey artisan attack case: HC commutes death penalty to life imprisonment
Staff Reporter :
The full text of the High Court’s verdict in the much-discussed Holey Artisan Bakery terrorist attack case has been published, reducing the death sentences of seven convicts to life imprisonment.
The 229-page verdict was uploaded to the Supreme Court’s official website on Tuesday, June 17. On October 30, 2023, a High Court bench comprising Justice Shahidul Karim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman delivered the judgment, rejecting the death references, appeals, and jail appeals of the convicts. The ruling was announced in Bengali.
In the hearing, the state was represented by then-Deputy Attorney General Bashir Ahmed, while Ariful Islam and Amimul Ehsan appeared for the defense. State-appointed defense counsel S.M. Shafiqul Islam also participated in the hearing.
The brutal attack occurred on the night of July 1, 2016, when militants belonging to the banned outfit Neo-JMB stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s upscale Gulshan area.
They killed 20 hostages, including 9 Italians, 7 Japanese, one Indian, one Bangladeshi-American dual citizen, and two Bangladeshis.
Two police officers OC Salauddin Ahmed of Banani Police Station and Assistant Commissioner Rabiul Islam were also killed in the line of duty. Five militants were shot dead in a military commando operation to end the siege.
On November 27, 2019, Judge Md Mojibur Rahman of the Dhaka Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal acquitted one accused and sentenced seven to death.
The condemned convicts were: Jahangir Hossain alias Rajib Gandhi, Aslam Hossain alias Rash, Abdus Sabur Khan, Rakibul Hasan Regan, Hadisur Rahman, Shariful Islam alias Khaled, and Mamunur Rashid. Mizanur Rahman alias Boro Mizan was acquitted.
Under the Criminal Procedure Code’s Section 374, death sentences handed down by a trial court require confirmation by the High Court, known as the “death reference.”.