The High Court has completed hearing on the appeals of five Huji militants convicted in 2008 for the assassination attempt on former British High Commissioner Anwar Choudhury that killed three people and left more than 70 other injured at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal in Sylhet.
The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Amir Hossain yesterday fixed February 11 for pronouncing verdict in the murder case. The court started hearing on the death references on January 6 this year.
Anwar, currently serving as the British Ambassador to Peru, and over 70 others were injured in the attack launched after the Jumma prayers on May 21, 2004. Hailing from Sylhet, Anwar served as the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh until 2008.
Three militants of banned militant outfit Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB) – Mufti Abdul Hannan, Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul, and Md Delwar Hossain alias Ripon – were sentenced to death while two others – Hannan’s brother Muhibullah alias Muhibur Rahman alias Ovi and Mufti Mainuddin Khaja alias Abu Jandal – given life-term jail by the Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal on December 23, 2008.
Another case filed over the use of explosives is currently under trial at a Sylhet court, additional public prosecutor Jasim Uddin told our correspondent yesterday.
In his confessional statement, Hannan said that Jandal had supplied the grenades through Bipul and Ripon. HujiB received the grenades from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
