Nearly nine years after the horrific Holey Artisan Bakery attack that claimed 20 lives, Bangladesh's High Court released its full verdict on June 18, which commuted the death sentences of seven militants to life imprisonment. Notably, in 2019, Dhaka’s Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal had initially sentenced these seven individuals to death, while acquitting one other person.
The seven accused whose sentences have been reduced to life imprisonment include 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 Islamic militant organization Neo-JMB (Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh) stormed the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic Gulshan area and took numerous people hostage. The incident drew international condemnation. Subsequently, the militants brutally killed 20 people, including nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, one Bangladeshi American dual citizen, and two Bangladeshis. Two police officers were also killed in grenade attacks by the terrorists. The Holey Artisan Bakery attack remains one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in Bangladesh's history, profoundly impacting the nation.
With the latest High Court verdict, it appears that Bangladesh, which earlier had a "zero tolerance policy for terrorism,” has instead started to lose its grip on the fundamentalist/radical elements in the country, which have arisen following the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in August 2025.
A notable achievement of erstwhile Sheikh Hasina’s regime was the crackdown on terrorist groups like Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI), among others. These actions became more pronounced after the attack on Holy Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, significantly deviating from the time when BNP was in power (2001-2006).
Since the interim government led by Muhammed Yunus took office on Aug. 8, 2025, the activities of old groups like HuJI and JMB and even more recent players like ABT and HuT have increased.
According to the South Asian Terrorism Portal, as of December 2024, at least 144 militants who belong to ABT, JMB, HuT, and others were released from jail. The numbers are higher if those who escaped from prison during the student protests are included.
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What is clear is that the liberal granting of bail to those who are charged under acts of terrorism is a trend under the interim government. For instance, on Aug. 26 last year, ABT Chief Mufti Jashimuddin Rahmani was released on bail from Kashimpur jail.
Additionally, the Bandarban District and Sessions Court granted bail on Nov. 18 to 10 cadres of the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya (JAFHS) and a suspected activist of ethnic armed group Kuki-Chin National Army (KCNA), who had been arrested in a crackdown by the security forces in October 2022.
Additionally, two cadres of banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, who were arrested in January 2019 on charges of killing Prof. Rezaul Karim of Rajshahi University, were also released on bail this past September from Kashimpur Central Jail.
Following his release, Rahmani has actively been involved in sermonizing and sharing the public stage with leaders such as Hefazat-e-Islam ("Protection of Islam") and clerics from Pakistan. The liberal granting of bail is implemented on the grounds that many individuals were wrongly framed with terror charges under the Sheikh Hasina regime. Separately, an organization named "Boishomyohin Karamukti Andolan" (BKA - Anti-Discrimination Prison-release Movement), led by the Islamic radical element Ataur Rahman Bikrompuri, is campaigning for the release of convicted Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terrorist Khalid Saifullah.
Sheikh Md Mohibullah of Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya (JAFHS) was also released in February of 2025 through the efforts of this organization. Pressure for such actions is mounted by many Islamic scholars and Madrassa students, encouraged by Hefazat and other groups, on the grounds that they were wrongly framed. The links between JMB, HuJI, and Madrassa students are not a secret, given that most of the fundamentalist/radical organizations primarily rely on Madrassas for their recruitment.
Hizbut-Tahrir (HuT), a pan-Islamic movement that works for the restoration of the Islamic Caliphate, has become very active in Bangladesh. In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government, poster campaigns were initiated by the group that advocated for the caliphate and justice for the 2009 Pilkhana massacre. The airing of anti-India views became commonplace in Dhaka and other cities. The group has supporters in schools and colleges; they attempted to conduct a ‘March for the caliphate' procession earlier this year, which was foiled by security forces. Notwithstanding the crackdown, the group has gained popularity among young university students.
Increasing use of encrypted platforms like Telegram for recruitment and spreading anti-India propaganda is another way in which these groups operate. Following the ouster of the Awami League’s government through a student movement in 2024, both Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State called the movement a revolution and appealed to Bangladeshi youth to work for an Islamic state. Groups like ABT and HuT are known to have links to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS).
Apparently, groups like JMB and HuJI are making efforts to recruit young people from Rohingya camps, using nearby Madrassas and mosques. A sense of victimhood among the displaced Rohingyas acts as a powerful motivating factor for joining these groups. The arrest of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’s (ARSA) Chief Abu Ammar Jununi by Bangladesh security agencies in March appears to be driven more by his fallout with DGFI than any concerted attempt to crack down on militancy. Moreover, the ARSA, the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), and other Rohingya groups are patronized by DGFI in order to seek leverage in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
Counter-Terrorism operations, which had often been conducted by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, have seen stagnation since August 2024. The demoralization of the police force, coupled with the scrutiny against the RAB, has led to a de-prioritization of counter terrorism operations. Intelligence networks, which were cultivated over the years, are now also weakened, given major changes made to security agencies’ top brass. Besides, the priority for the interim government led by Yunus at this stage is to address the worsening law and order situation, for which the Army has been given magisterial powers.
The recent arrest (December 2024) of eight people, including one Bangladeshi national, Sad Radi (known to have links to ABT), by Assam police demonstrates that groups like ABT have the potential to make use of cross-border connections to orchestrate terrorist attacks in India. As per Assam police, Sad Radi was sent to India to spread the ideology of ABT and to create sleeper cells.
The present security scenario and political instability in Bangladesh have boosted the morale of radical Islamic groups in Bangladesh. The demand to run the country on a Sharia-based system, shunning democracy, is an outcome of this development. If not checked, Bangladesh could soon be a roosting ground for fundamentalist and radical Islamic elements, threatening the wider region and the world at large.
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