Bangladesh Awaits Terror Executions, Fears Jihadi Resurgence

By Animesh Roul

Bangladesh President, on March 04, rejected the mercy petition put forward to save six of the seven militants of the Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) who were sentenced to death for their role in November 2005 attack on Judges in Jhalakathi. The militants include JMB chief Abdur Rahman, Siddiqul Islam (notorious as Bangla Bhai of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Ataur Rahman Sunny, Abdul Awal, Khaled Saifullah and Iftekhar Al Mamun. Another sentenced militant is still absconding.

In Jhalkathi attack, Senior assistant judges Jagannath Pandey and Sohel Ahmed were killed and three others injured. Earlier in August 2006, the High Court upheld the trial court’s verdict which gave death penalties to the seven convicts. Again the Supreme Court has rejected the six convicts' petitions in November last year.

JMB operatives had launched many attacks on Courts and judges in 2005 to force the judiciary to adopt Islamic laws. Now, the Presidential decision has cleared all obstacles for the execution and it will be taking place in early April 2007, as per the prison code. Presently, Abdur Rahman, Bangla Bhai and Iftekhar Mamun are lodged in Kashimpur jail in Gazipur while Ataur Rahman Sunny and Abdul Awal in Dhaka Central Jail and Khaled Saifullah lodged in Rangpur jail. Authorities fear JMB attacks on jails to rescue their colleagues prompted tight security deployment at sensitive places including jails.

Widely believed to have been crushed by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), JMB recently has begun to reorganize with secret recruitment and collection of fund drives. With top leadership behind bars, JMB has been attempting to reorganize the structure. A new Six member central committee is reportedly in place with one Moulana Sayedur Rahman Jaffar becoming the acting chief. Intelligence sources reportedly named other five members: Assaduallah Arif, Tasleem (in custody now), Faruq, Syed and Mahfuz. A Saudi connection reportedly found as far as financial and manpower efforts of JMB are concerned.

JMB This Week: Events relating to JMB

March 06: Five JMB men from Uttar Moheshpur and Telabadul Mridhapara villages of Khetlal, Joypurhat district were arrested. The arrested militants have been identified as Monsur Rahman, Mahfuzur, Nuruzzaman, Ishaque Ali and Afzal Hossain.

March 04: Chittagong’s Metropolitan Session's court sentenced one JMB militant to 24 years imprisonment. He was involved in a bomb blast case during early Oct, 2005 at the Chittagong Court premises.

March 02: Five suspected JMB militants were arrested in Naogaon. One of the arrested militants Abul Hossain Master was a close associate of JMB’s second-in-command Siddiqul Islam.

March 01: The Fourth Special Tribunal in Rajshahi sentenced one JMB cadre to 30 years imprisonment. The militant, Khalid, was arrested with huge bomb-making materials and explosives from a rented house at Chhoto Banagram in the Rajshahi city in Nov. 2005.
Same day elsewhere, at least 10 suspected JMB militants were arrested in the Bagmara, Rajshahi district. One of them was a teacher at Jatragachhi Fazil Madrassa identified as Abdus Sattar, was reportedly involved in reorganizing the JMB militants. He was arrested twice before since the Aug. 17, 2005 countrywide bombings and believed to have helped Bangla Bhai in his anti-outlaw operations in 2004.

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