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Bangladesh court clears student of terror strike involvement
A Bangladeshi court on Wednesday freed a Canadian university student of all charges of involvement in a terror attack on a restaurant in July that left 20 hostages dead.
A Bangladeshi court on Wednesday freed a Canadian university student of all charges of involvement in a terror attack on a restaurant in July that left 20 hostages dead.
Dhaka’s Metropolitan Magistrate Nur Nabi passed the order after counter-terrorism investigator Humayun Kabir appealed for clearing Tahmid Hasib Khan, 22, thus ending a formal investigation against the undergraduate student of the University of Toronto.
Khan was arrested in August and has been held for interrogation since then even as his family claimed he was innocent and just a victim of the situation.
Abdullah Abu, a public prosecutor, said Khan was cleared of suspicion that he was involved in the July 1 siege of the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s Gulshan diplomatic zone. Seventeen foreigners including an Indian student were among those killed in the attack.
Khan did not face any formal charges as he was arrested under a law that allows security agencies to detain or arrest any persons on suspicion for investigation. “The court has cleared him of the case as investigators found no evidence against him,” Abu said.
The court, however, said Khan would continue to face trial for his initial non-cooperation with the investigators.
“He has freed from allegations of his involvement in the restaurant attack. But he will have to come to court in another case for not cooperating with the security agencies. He ignored notice for giving his statement as a witness after the attack but he did not respond to the notice,” Abu said.
If convicted, he will face a month of jail term and taka 500 as fine.
Police had earlier taken Khan on remand twice after his arrest and denied him bail.
On Wednesday, the magistrate ruled that Hasnat Karim, a Bangladeshi origin British citizen, would continue to face charges as a key suspect in the case.
Police have accused Karim, who is currently in jail, of being one of the masterminds of the attack in which at least five Islamist militants took part.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has blamed local militant group Jumatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB). Commandos killed all five attackers.
Karim had lived in the UK for nearly 20 years and returned to Dhaka a few years ago to be a teacher at North South University. He then was investigated for his alleged involvement with Hizbut Tahrir, a banned militant group. He left the university in 2012 to be part of a family business.
Karim had entered the restaurant along with his two children and wife before the attack in the evening of July 1. He said he went there to celebrate the birthday of one of his children.
But investigators suspect that to be nothing but just cover-up. He was freed along with the family by the attackers before commandos made a final push to end the siege in the morning on July 2.
