DHAKA, June 19 (V7N) – Nearly nine years after the horrific Holey Artisan Bakery attack that claimed 20 lives, Bangladesh's High Court has released its full 229-page verdict, commuting the death sentences of seven militants to life imprisonment. The ruling, initially announced on October 30 of last year, is now publicly available on the Supreme Court website.

The High Court division bench, comprising Justice Shahidul Karim and Justice Md. Mostafizur Rahman, reviewed the death references and appeals. The seven accused whose sentences have been reduced to life imprisonment are: Jahangir Hossain alias Rajiv Gandhi, Aslam Hossain alias Rash, Abdus Sabur Khan, Rakibul Hasan Rigyan, Hadisur Rahman, Shariful Islam alias Khaled, and Mamunur Rashid Ripon.

The highly anticipated verdict follows the brutal attack on July 1, 2016, when members of the banned militant organization Neo-JMB stormed the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic Gulshan area. The militants took numerous hostages, brutally killing 20 people, including nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, one Bangladeshi-American dual citizen, and two Bangladeshis. Two police officers, Assistant Police Commissioner Rabiul Islam and Banani Police Station Officer-in-Charge Salauddin Ahmed, were also killed in grenade attacks by the terrorists.

The hostage crisis ended with a commando operation that killed five militants at the scene: Mir Sameh Mobasher, Rohan Ibne Imtiaz alias Mamun, Nibras Islam, Khairul Islam Payel, and Shafiqul Islam Ujjwal. Additionally, eight other Neo-JMB members allegedly involved in the plot were killed in separate operations by law enforcement at different times and were acquitted of charges in this specific case.

On November 27, 2019, Judge Md. Mujibur Rahman of the Dhaka Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal had initially sentenced these seven individuals to death, while acquitting one other person. North South University teacher Abul Hasnat Reza Karim was also acquitted in the case due to a lack of sufficient evidence.

The case was filed at Gulshan Police Station under the Anti-Terrorism Act by Sub-Inspector (SI) Ripon Kumar Das. Police Inspector Humayun Kabir of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit led the investigation, filing the charge sheet on July 1, 2018.

The full verdict's release now paves the way for further legal steps, including potential appeals to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court by either the prosecution or the defense. The Holey Artisan Bakery attack remains one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in Bangladesh's history, profoundly impacting the nation and drawing international condemnation.

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