9 years on, trial of Holey Artisan murder case yet to end

Nine years have passed since the shocking Holey Artisan Bakery attack, but the final trial in the case remains pending. Appeals, jail appeals, and the death reference verdict issued by the High Court are currently awaiting hearings at the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Although the case appeared on the cause list several times in January this year, it has not reappeared since February. Even the state prosecution cannot say for certain when the hearing will begin.

Attorney General A. M. Amin Uddin told Views Bangladesh, “The July 1, 2016, militant attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's Gulshan area, which killed 20 people including several foreign nationals, severely damaged Bangladesh’s image abroad. It clearly exposed the presence of militants within the country. Later, the High Court sentenced seven members of the banned militant group Neo-JMB to life imprisonment in connection with the case. Although appeals were filed afterward, the hearing has yet to begin. One of the main reasons for this delay is the heavy backlog of cases in the Appellate Division. Under these circumstances, it’s difficult to say when the hearing for this highly sensitive case will commence.”

On the night of July 1, 2016, members of the banned extremist group Neo-JMB stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery and murdered 20 people, including foreign nationals. Two police officers were also killed in the attack. Five of the militants were later killed during a commando operation. A case under the Anti-Terrorism Act was filed at Gulshan Police Station following the attack. After the investigation, charges were formally framed against eight accused on November 26, 2018.

On November 27, 2019, the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal of Dhaka, presided over by Judge Md. Mojibur Rahman, sentenced seven of the accused to death and acquitted one. Those sentenced to death were: Aslam Hossain alias Rashid alias Abu Zarrah alias Rash, a close associate of attack coordinator Tamim Chowdhury; Hadisur Rahman Sagar, who supplied arms and explosives; militants Rakibul Hasan Regan, Jahangir Alam alias Rajib alias Rajib Gandhi; attack planner Abdus Sabur Khan (Hasan) alias Sohel Mahfuz; Shariful Islam; and Mamunur Rashid. Each was also fined Tk 50,000. Mizanur Rahman alias Boro Mizan was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Following the trial court’s death sentence, the mandatory death reference, along with jail appeals by the convicts, was submitted to the High Court on December 5, 2019. This included all case documents from the lower court—such as the FIR, seizure lists, charge sheet, witness depositions, and verdict—amounting to a total of 2,307 pages. After the paper book was compiled, the case was placed for hearing.

In early 2023, the High Court began hearings on the death reference, appeal, and jail appeals. The hearings concluded on October 11, 2023, and the verdict was announced on October 30. In its verdict, the High Court commuted the death sentences of the seven JMB convicts to life imprisonment. The full 229-page verdict was released on the Supreme Court’s website on June 17, 2024.

Those who were sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court are Jahangir Hossain alias Rajib Gandhi, Aslam Hossain alias Rash, Hadisur Rahman, Rakibul Hasan Regan, Abdus Sabur Khan, Shariful Islam alias Khaled, and Mamunur Rashid Ripon. They subsequently filed regular appeals with the Appellate Division.

In its full verdict, the High Court stated that none of the appellants were present at the scene of the attack on the date and time it occurred, nor did they directly participate in the killings. Therefore, the charges under Section 6(1)(Ka)(A) of the Anti-Terrorism Act did not apply to them. The trial court’s decision to sentence them to death under Section 6(2)(A) based on a "common intention" was deemed incorrect by the High Court.

However, the court also ruled that the appellants were proven beyond doubt to have conspired, planned, funded, recruited, trained, and incited the attackers, making it possible for the five assailants to carry out the killings. Thus, Section 6(1)(Ka)(A) of the Anti-Terrorism Act was applicable.

Accordingly, the High Court set aside the death penalty and sentenced the seven convicts to life imprisonment under Section 6(2)(Ka) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, along with a fine of Tk 50,000 each, with an additional five years of imprisonment in case of non-payment.

The verdict was delivered on October 10, 2023, by the High Court bench comprising Justice Shahidul Karim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman. The bench rejected the death reference and dismissed the appeals and jail appeals of the convicts. Justice Mostafizur Rahman authored the Bengali version of the verdict, which was concurred with by Justice Shahidul Karim.