Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of the Holey Artisan Bakery attack, in which 22 people, including 17 foreign nationals, were killed.
On July 1, 2016, heavily armed militants stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's Gulshan area, killing three Bangladeshis, seven Japanese, nine Italians and one Indian national. Two police officers were also killed during the rescue operation.
Three days after the attack, Sub-Inspector Ripon Kumar Das filed a case with Gulshan Police Station under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
On Nov. 27, 2019, the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal in Dhaka sentenced seven members of the New Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) to death for their roles in the attack.
The seven convicts are Rakibul Hasan Regan, Md Jahangir Hossain alias Rajib Gandhi, Aslam Hossain alias Rash, Hadisur Rahman, Md Abdus Sabur Khan alias Sohel Mahfuz, Mamunur Rashid alias Ripon and Shariful Islam Khaled.
Nearly four years later, on Oct. 30, 2023, a High Court bench comprising Justice Shahidul Karim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman commuted their death sentences to imprisonment until death after hearing the death references.
On June 17, 2025, the High Court published the full text of its verdict, explaining the reasons for commuting the sentences.
"Considering the brutality of the murder, the overall cruel behaviour of the terrorists on the spot at the time of the incident and the tarnishing of the image of Bangladesh in the outside world, we think that justice will be ensured if each of them (the seven convicts) is sentenced to life imprisonment (until natural death) in the case," the bench said in the full verdict.