Seven members of an Islamist militant group have received death sentences for plotting an attack on a café in 2016 that killed 22 people including foreigners in South Asia.
The verdict was given to them after the charges against them were proven beyond doubt that they were involved in the attack.
“Charges against them were proved beyond any doubt. The court gave them the highest punishment,” public prosecutor Golam Sarwar Khan told reporters after the verdict in the capital, Dhaka, amid tight security.
The attack that happened at the restaurant on the 1st of July, 2019 was popular with foreigners in Dhaka’s diplomatic area. This attack shocked the nation of 160 million and signaled a chilling threat to man businesses including the vital garment export sector.
A witness said that five militants stormed the Holey Artisan café and took diners hostage and killed the over 12 hours. Those who were killed included nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian.
According to Reuters Dhaka, the militants were also killed by the army commandos in a rescue bid.
Khan made it clear that the seven men who were convicted on Wednesday were involved in planning the attack. According to t him, they belong to the group, Jamaat-ul-mujahideen Bangladeh that seeks to establish sharia rule in the predominantly Muslim country.