Current:Home > FinanceBangladesh top court commutes death sentences of 7 militants to life in prison for 2016 cafe attack-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Bangladesh top court commutes death sentences of 7 militants to life in prison for 2016 cafe attack
View Date:2024-12-23 15:37:11
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s High Court on Monday commuted the death sentences of seven Islamic militants to life in prison for their role in a 2016 attack on a cafe in the capital, Dhaka, that killed 20 people, mostly foreigners.
A special anti-terrorism tribunal in 2019 sentenced the seven members of a banned militant group to death in the attack that triggered a major crackdown on extremists.
The group behind the attack on the Holey Artisan Cafe, the Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, wants to establish Sharia law in the secular Muslim-majority nation of more than 160 million.
A two-member panel of High Court judges on Monday commuted the death sentences of the seven men after rejecting their appeals challenging the verdict, said defense lawyer Aminul Ehsan Zubayer.
He said that the High Court found that the men were guilty of hatching conspiracy, provoking and abetting the militants who directly took part in the attack.
The attack on the cafe began after the militants took hostages, opened fire and exploded bombs. Twenty hostages were killed, including 17 from Japan, Italy and India, after a 12-hour standoff.
Investigators said that 21 people, including five gunmen who were killed by security forces at the cafe, were involved in the attack. Seven men were convicted and one was acquitted. Eight other suspects were killed in security raids after the attack.
The Islamic State group had claimed responsibility for the attack, but the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rejected it, saying the domestic group was behind it.
The attack followed several years of smaller attacks targeting scores of individuals deemed by extremists to be enemies of Islam, including secularists, writers, religious minorities, foreigners and activists.
veryGood! (114)
Related
- South Carolina lab recaptures 5 more escaped monkeys but 13 are still loose
- A 5.5 magnitude earthquake jolts Bangladesh
- State trooper who fatally shot man at hospital likely prevented more injuries, attorney general says
- Uzo Aduba Gives Birth, Welcomes First Baby With Husband Robert Sweeting
- Veterans face challenges starting small businesses but there are plenty of resources to help
- Social media posts Trump claimed were made by judge's wife were not made by her, court says
- Klete Keller, Olympic gold medalist swimmer, gets 6 months in home detention for Jan. 6 Capitol riot
- Bringing up a baby can be a tough and lonely job. Here's a solution: alloparents
- Why was Jalen Ramsey traded? Dolphins CB facing former team on 'Monday Night Football'
- Philippines says China has executed two Filipinos convicted of drug trafficking despite appeals
Ranking
- Florida Man Arrested for Cold Case Double Murder Almost 50 Years Later
- Pilgrims yearn to visit isolated peninsula where Catholic saints cared for Hawaii’s leprosy patients
- Tougher penalties for rioting, power station attacks among new North Carolina laws starting Friday
- Pentagon forges new high-tech agreement with Australia, United Kingdom, aimed at countering China
- Today's Craig Melvin Replacing Hoda Kotb: Everything to Know About the Beloved Anchor
- More cantaloupe recalls: Check cut fruit products sold at Trader Joe's, Kroger and Sprouts
- Dr. Phil Alum Bhad Bhabie Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby
- Where to watch 'Love Actually' this holiday season: Streaming info, TV times, cast
Recommendation
-
US Congress hopes to 'pull back the curtain' on UFOs in latest hearing: How to watch
-
Pakistan’s supreme court hears petition against forceful deportation of Afghans born in the country
-
Philippine troops kill 11 Islamic militants in one of bloodiest anti-insurgency offensives this year
-
Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, has died at 93
-
Singles' Day vs. Black Friday: Which Has the Best Deals for Smart Shoppers?
-
UN ends political mission in Sudan, where world hasn’t been able to stop bloodshed
-
Director Ridley Scott on Napoleon: It's a character study with violence, with action, with everything you got
-
America Ferrera Says It's Ridiculous How Her Body Was Perceived in Hollywood