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Bangladesh
4 JMB cadres get 26yrs for bomb attack on Ctg court
2008-05-01
A court here yesterday sentenced four members of outlawed militant outfit Jamaatul Mujaheedin Bangladesh>Jamaatul Mujaheedin Bangladesh (JMB) to 26 years' rigorous imprisonment (RI) each for bomb attack on the court of the then Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Akram Hossain in October 2005.

Judge Shafiqul Karim of Chittagong Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal gave this judgement.

The four convicts are JMB Chittagong regional commander Jabed Iqbal alias Mohammad, activists of Tangail JMB branch Shahadat, Abul Malek alias Laltu and bomb expert Jahidul Islam alias Mizan alias Bomb Mizan. Of them, Mizan is absconding.

JMB chief Abdur Rahman and JMB military chief Ataur Rahman Sunny were dropped from the trial as both were executed following an earlier verdict, sources said.

JMB activists Laltu and Shahadat on October 3 in 2005 hurled a bomb at CMM Akram Hossain's courtroom on the ground floor of Chittagong Court Building. People present there caught the two while they were fleeing and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) later caught Jabed Iqbal.

Sources said the three gave confessional statement admitting their involvement in the bomb attack. Charges in the case were pressed on May 8, 2006, accusing six. Five witnesses gave their deposition.

Public Prosecutor Quamrul Islam Sajjad stood for the state in the trial while the militants refused to have any lawyer for them.
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Afghanistan/South Asia
Bangladeshi clerics support crackdown on hardliners
2005-02-27
DHAKA: Leading clerics at mosques across Bangladesh backed Saturday a government crackdown on suspected Muslim hardliners, saying those engaging in terrorist acts in the name of religion should be punished. "Islam does not support any act of terrorism. Those who are engaged in terrorism using Islam's name are nothing but terrorists. They should be punished for their crimes," a statement by the country's 101 head clerics, or imam, said Saturday. The statement followed the recent arrests of suspected Islamic hardliners throughout the Muslim-majority country.
Bangla hasn't historically been a fundamentalist country. It's a recent import...
On Wednesday, the government banned two hardline groups, the Jamaatul Mujaheedin and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, and arrested more than 100 including alleged Jamaatul Mujaheedin leader Asadullah Ghalib.
Took me by surprise. The gummint coalition includes the Islamists...
In the statement, the imams expressed their concerns at the recent spate of killings and bomb attacks across the country and said, "No group has the right to take law into its own hands".
The crackdown came as the country's donors met in Washington to express concern at "deteriorating governance situation, political violence and climate of impunity" in Bangladesh. The government alleged that the two groups were involved in a wave of bombings of non-governmental groups, holy shrines and other targets. In the statement, the imams expressed their concerns at the recent spate of killings and bomb attacks across the country and said, "No group has the right to take law into its own hands".
That's why you have a government. Stable countries don't have bands of fascisti running around bumping people off or bullying them.
"The imams who know anything about Islamic Shariah (law) do not support terrorist acts. We detest all criminal activities and urge the government to take legal action against those involved in these crimes," it said.
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Afghanistan/South Asia
Bangla cracks down on Islamists
2005-02-24
The government on Wednesday launched a crackdown against radical Islamists, banning two organisations for their alleged involvement in anarchic and subversive activities across the country, and arresting an alleged extremist leader. The Ministry of Home Affairs announced the ban on Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh and Jamaatul Mujaheedin hours after the police arrested a professor of Rajshahi University, Dr Asadullah al-Ghalib, for instigating violence in the name of Islam.

The police also conducted raids in different parts of the northern region to arrest Siddiqul Islam, popularly known as Bangla Bhai, who is the linchpin of the Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh. 'The government is firm to take action against anyone involved in destroying peace and discipline, and instigating anarchic activities in the name of any organisation,' said a press note issued Wednesday by the home ministry. 'The two banned organisations have been engaged in killing, dacoity, bomb attacks, issuing threats and other subversive activities in different parts of the country, endangering the lives of the common people and destroying their property,' the press note said.
Wonder what they did to fall out of favor?
The government's admission of the existence of radical Islamist outfits in the country comes at a time when quarters at home and abroad — the media in particular — have long been warning of their existence and motives.Foreign lenders and development partners have been the latest to express 'grave concern' over the emergence of Islamist outfits in Bangladesh. Sources in the ruling party said Wednesday's admission and action against radical Islamists came following mounting pressure from international lenders who are currently meeting in Washington DC to review their aid policy towards Bangladesh.
Ahhh... That's it. Crack down or the money flow turns off. That means the crackdown won't last long...
The government press note, however, mentioned as a reason for the ban order the recent attacks on socio-cultural and non-governmental organisations including the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee and the Grameen Bank in the northern part of the country. The Islamist outfits have continued to threaten such attacks. Following the latest bout of attacks, the government launched a countrywide police-drive and has nabbed as many as 50 alleged extremists in the last couple of days, including Wednesday's arrest of Ghalib, a professor of Arabic at Rajshahi University. Ghalib's arrest came following many of the arrested people naming him as their leader. The press note said Ghalib has been 'trying to create instability in the country exploiting religious sentiments and distracting a group of youths'. Expressing the government's commitment to handle 'these elements' with an iron hand, the press note said, 'Such activities will not be tolerated.'
I'll believe that when he's dangling from a rope.
Mentioning the recent attacks on different organisations, the press note said the government has strengthened police activities across the county. A number of people were caught red-handed in Bogra, Jaipurhat, Sirajganj, Gaibandha, Thakurgaon, Moulavibazar, Gopalganj, Dhamrai and Savar, it said. The press note said that the police operations also recovered explosive items and objectionable books and documents. From the confession of some of the arrested people, it was known that they are all active members of the JMJB or the Jamaatul Mujaheedin. 'They have engaged in such criminal activities to materialise their objectives. In their identical confessional statements, they disclosed Siddiqul Islam alias Bagla Bhai and Rajshahi University teacher Ghalib as their leaders,' the press note added.
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