Post by sclcookie on May 30, 2006 0:23:11 GMT -5
Bangladesh Court Orders Death Sentences for Terrorist Masterminds
A Bangladesh court has sentenced to death two Islamic militant leaders for
the murders of 2 judges last year. Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam head
two terrorist organizations, which have also been blamed for a string of
bombings in the country.
Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam (alias Bangla Bhai) were among 7
defendants sentenced to death Monday for their part in a bomb attack that
killed 2 judges in November.
Rahman was the leader of the terrorist group Jamaat-ul Mujahedin
Bangladesh, known as JMB. Islam was the head of Jagrata Muslim Janata
Bangladesh, known as the JMJB.
The judge ordered death by hanging in a crowded courtroom in the southern
town of Jhalakathi, where the judges were murdered.
But that attack is just one of the many that Rahman and Islam are believed
to have been involved in.
Police say their terror organizations were behind a coordinated attack
last August in which hundreds of bombs were detonated nationwide. 2 people
were killed and analysts say the bombings were aimed at gaining publicity
for the terrorist groups.
Ajay Sahni, an analyst with the Delhi-based Institute of Conflict
Management, says the attack did prompted Bangladeshi authorities to wake
up to the problem of homegrown terrorism, which they had been reluctant to
tackle.
"That denial has been shattered as a result of the widespread actions that
took place, those 500 odd bombings that took place on a single day - which
brought home the truth that they could not in fact completely control
these groupings," Sahni said, "and that they were reaching a stage where
they constituted a threat to stability and security within Bangladesh
itself. That realization is what has pushed these people to action."
The JMB and the JMJB want Bangladesh to become an Islamic state.
Their leaders, Rahman and Islam, were arrested in March, after eluding
capture by authorities for months.
Authorities believe they carried out scores of other bomb attacks across
the country, in addition to the August attack.
Sahni says authorities in Bangladesh should be praised for the arrests and
convictions of Rahman and Islam and how it cripples their terrorist
organizations. But he warns other militant groups are still able to use
Bangladesh as a base from which to export terror.
"One, we hope that this kind of an action would also be taken against all
other Islamic extremist groupings operating from Bangladesh and not only
those operating within Bangladesh," he said. "But also those like the
Harkut-ul Jihad Islami, operating out of Bangladesh and into neighboring
areas, particularly India."
6 of the 7 militants convicted Monday are in police custody. The last
remains a fugitive.
(source: Voice of America News)
A Bangladesh court has sentenced to death two Islamic militant leaders for
the murders of 2 judges last year. Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam head
two terrorist organizations, which have also been blamed for a string of
bombings in the country.
Abdur Rahman and Siddiqul Islam (alias Bangla Bhai) were among 7
defendants sentenced to death Monday for their part in a bomb attack that
killed 2 judges in November.
Rahman was the leader of the terrorist group Jamaat-ul Mujahedin
Bangladesh, known as JMB. Islam was the head of Jagrata Muslim Janata
Bangladesh, known as the JMJB.
The judge ordered death by hanging in a crowded courtroom in the southern
town of Jhalakathi, where the judges were murdered.
But that attack is just one of the many that Rahman and Islam are believed
to have been involved in.
Police say their terror organizations were behind a coordinated attack
last August in which hundreds of bombs were detonated nationwide. 2 people
were killed and analysts say the bombings were aimed at gaining publicity
for the terrorist groups.
Ajay Sahni, an analyst with the Delhi-based Institute of Conflict
Management, says the attack did prompted Bangladeshi authorities to wake
up to the problem of homegrown terrorism, which they had been reluctant to
tackle.
"That denial has been shattered as a result of the widespread actions that
took place, those 500 odd bombings that took place on a single day - which
brought home the truth that they could not in fact completely control
these groupings," Sahni said, "and that they were reaching a stage where
they constituted a threat to stability and security within Bangladesh
itself. That realization is what has pushed these people to action."
The JMB and the JMJB want Bangladesh to become an Islamic state.
Their leaders, Rahman and Islam, were arrested in March, after eluding
capture by authorities for months.
Authorities believe they carried out scores of other bomb attacks across
the country, in addition to the August attack.
Sahni says authorities in Bangladesh should be praised for the arrests and
convictions of Rahman and Islam and how it cripples their terrorist
organizations. But he warns other militant groups are still able to use
Bangladesh as a base from which to export terror.
"One, we hope that this kind of an action would also be taken against all
other Islamic extremist groupings operating from Bangladesh and not only
those operating within Bangladesh," he said. "But also those like the
Harkut-ul Jihad Islami, operating out of Bangladesh and into neighboring
areas, particularly India."
6 of the 7 militants convicted Monday are in police custody. The last
remains a fugitive.
(source: Voice of America News)