The High Court of Bangladesh has released the full text of its verdict in the country’s most high-profile terror case—the 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Dhaka`s Gulshan area.
In a significant development, the court has commuted the death sentences of seven convicts to life imprisonment. The 229-page verdict was published on the Supreme Court’s website on Tuesday (June 17).
The ruling, delivered on October 30, 2023, by the High Court bench of Justice Shahidul Karim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman, rejected the death references, along with the convicts’ appeals and jail appeals, reducing their punishment from execution to imprisonment until natural death.
Deputy Attorney General Bashir Ahmed represented the state, while Ariful Islam and Amimul Ehsan defended the accused. State-appointed defense counsel SM Shafiqul Islam also appeared for the convicts.
On the night of July 1, 2016, militants from the banned extremist group Neo-JMB stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, killing 20 hostages, including 9 Italians, 7 Japanese, 1 Indian, 1 dual Bangladeshi-American citizen, and 2 Bangladeshis.
Two police officers, OC Salauddin Ahmed and Assistant Police Commissioner Rabiul Islam, also lost their lives in the attack.
The siege ended with a commando operation that killed five attackers on the spot. Over subsequent years, eight more Neo-JMB operatives were killed in security crackdowns.
In November 2019, the Dhaka Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal sentenced seven individuals to death and acquitted one. The convicts whose death sentences were now commuted to life terms include Jahangir Hossain alias Rajib Gandhi, Aslam Hossain alias Rash, Abdus Sabur Khan, Rakibul Hasan Regan, Hadisur Rahman, Shariful Islam alias Khaled and Mamunur Rashid.
The only acquitted individual was Mizanur Rahman alias Boro Mizan.
Under Bangladeshi criminal law, death sentences issued by trial courts must be reviewed and confirmed by the High Court—a process known as death reference. The trial court forwarded all case documents to the High Court under Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
After detailed hearings and reviews, the High Court commuted the sentences, effectively ruling out capital punishment for the convicts.
The original investigation was led by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit. Charges were formally submitted to the court on July 1, 2018, exactly two years after the attack.
This case remains one of the most brutal terror incidents in Bangladesh’s history, drawing international attention and prompting significant changes in the country’s counterterrorism strategy.
