BANGLADESH HANDS DEATH SENTENCE TO 3 ISLAMISTS

February 17, 2008: a special Bangladesh court sentenced three members of militant Islamic groups to death for involvement in a suicide bombing more than two years ago in which eight people were killed, officials said.
The blast in the northern town of Netrokona was targeted at members of Udichi, a cultural group known for its anti-Islamist stance and which had been trying to promote the country's secular traditions. The three men belonged to the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, two outlawed groups blamed for a series of bombings across the country in 2005. (Sources: Reuters, 17/02/2008)