Holy Artisan murder: Leave to appeal awaiting hearing even after 10 years

Today marks a decade since the terrorist attack and murder at the Holy Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, the capital. The horrific attack on July 1, 2016, in which 22 people were killed, created a huge stir in the country and abroad. After passing through the stages of the trial court and the High Court, the case is now at the doorstep of the Appellate Division. The leave to appeal filed by the six surviving convicts against the life imprisonment sentence given by the High Court is still awaiting hearing, so the case has not been finally disposed of.

Leave to appeal is an application seeking permission to appeal. If the Appellate Division accepts the applications, the case will be heard as a full appeal. Otherwise, the High Court's verdict will remain in effect. As a result, the further progress of this much-discussed case depends on the decision of the Appellate Division.

On the night of July 1, 2016, armed members of the neo-JMB attacked the Holy Artisan Bakery in the diplomatic area of ​​Gulshan and killed 20 hostages, including foreign nationals. Among the dead were nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian and three Bangladeshis. Two police officers were killed in the militant attack while preparing for an operation to rescue the hostages. The next morning, the army-led 'Operation Thunderbolt' killed five attackers and rescued 13 hostages alive.

After the trial of the incident, on November 27, 2019, the Dhaka Special Anti-Terrorism Tribunal sentenced seven members of the neo-JMB to death. However, after hearing the death reference, appeal and jail appeal, the High Court on October 30, 2023 reduced their death sentences to life imprisonment. At the same time, each was fined Tk 50,000 and ordered to serve another five years in prison in default.

After the full 229-page High Court verdict was published on June 17, 2025, the six surviving convicts sentenced to life imprisonment filed leave to appeal in the Appellate Division. The hearing date for those appeals is currently awaited.

One of the seven convicts sentenced to life imprisonment, Aslam Hossain, was shot dead by prison guards on August 6, 2024, while attempting to escape from Kashimpur High Security Jail in Gazipur. As a result, the appeals of the six surviving convicts are currently pending.

The full High Court verdict said that the analysis of various information including witness evidence, confessional statements, forensic, ballistics, DNA and immigration reports has proved beyond doubt that the attack was carried out by the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh's extremist wing, Neo-JMB.

The verdict also mentioned that if the five militants who participated in the attack were alive, the death penalty could have been imposed on them for direct murder. However, although the charges of planning, financing, procuring weapons, selecting attackers, training and inciting the attack against the seven accused were proven, the death sentence given by the trial court was not legally appropriate. Therefore, the High Court opined that their life imprisonment is consistent with justice.

Law Minister Md. Asaduzzaman said, the Holey Artisan attack is one of the most horrific terrorist attacks in the history of Bangladesh. It is not appropriate to comment on pending cases, but the government wants justice to be ensured by following all the steps of the law and Bangladesh's position against terrorism to be stronger.

Attorney General Md. Ruhul Quddus Kajal said, this case has international importance as a foreign national was killed. Therefore, the state will take necessary steps to ensure a speedy hearing of the case in the Appellate Division and is ready for a final settlement in accordance with the law.