Bangladesh: Harkat ul Jihad leader hanged

By Mainul Islam Khan

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Bangladeshi authorities hanged the leader of banned Harkat ul Jihad al Islami group and two accomplices Wednesday over high-profile deadly attacks and would be-attacks.

Bangladesh’s Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal confirmed the executions to local website bdnews24.com.

Abdul Hannan was hanged at the Kashimpur jail in Gazipur along with his accomplice Sharif Shahedul Bipul, and their accomplice Delwar Hossain Ripon was hanged in Sylhet jail, all at 10 pm local time (1600GMT).

Hannan, a leader of the banned Harkat ul Jihad al Islami group, was convicted over a 2004 grenade attack on then-British Envoy Anwar Choudhury, killing three people. Choudhury had been visiting the Hazrat Shahjala shrine in his hometown, Sylhet.

Hannan was also convicted for bombing a 2001 cultural program in observance of the Bengali New Year, and was said to have masterminded some 13 attacks, including an attempt on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's life.

He was arrested in 2005 and got the death penalty from a local court in 2008.

Hannan and his accomplices challenged the sentence, but last December it was upheld.

Their fate was sealed earlier this week when Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid rejected their clemency petition.