ASSASSINATION OF TWO JUDGES SPARKS COURT

UNCLAS DHAKA 005594

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER KISL PGOV BG BG
SUBJECT: ASSASSINATION OF TWO JUDGES SPARKS COURT
PROTESTS


1. (SBU) Summary: An IED thrown at a court commuter van
killed two judges and injured four others in southern
Bangladesh. Home State Minister Babar speculated to
reporters that Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB),the
alleged perpetrator of the August 17 and October 3 bomb
blasts, was behind the attack. District judges across
the country subsequently walked out of court in protest
and threatened a "greater movement" if the BDG fails to
ensure security for judges by November 21. End Summary


2. (SBU) On November 14, assailants hurled an IED at a
van carrying judges from their residential quarters in
Jhalakhati, about 200 miles south of Dhaka, to the local
district court, according to press and other reports.
Senior Assistant Judges Sohel Ahmed and Jagannath Pery
were killed and several other persons were injured,
including a suspected attacker named Mamun. Local people
reportedly detained Mamun, who, according to some
reports, unsuccessfully tried to explode another bomb
from his pocket on way to hospital in Barisal. BDG
officials and media reports said Mamun carried leaflets
from Jamaatul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB) calling for the
implementation of Islamic law. Police subsequently
raided Mamun's house in northern Rajshahi district and
found a large number of JMB leaflets, and detained
another suspect from Jhalakathi.


3. (SBU) District judges across the country walked out
of court to protest the attack, the fourth of its kind
since the 17 August serial blasts that rocked all but
one of Bangladesh's 64 districts. Leaders of the
Judicial Service Association expressed grave concern at
the insecurity of judges in the face of JMB threats and
attacks. They threatened "a greater movement" if the
BDG fails to ensure their security by November 21. The
Supreme Court Bar Association in Dhaka also called for
measures to ensure security for judges and lawyers. The
lawyers boycotted Supreme Court hearings this afternoon
and announced another boycott for November 17.


4. (SBU) Babar, Law Minister Ahmed, and the chiefs of
the police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) visited
Jhalakhati and consoled the families of the victims.
Babar told reporters that JMB was using the name of
Islam to carry out activities not approved by Islam.
Ahmed said perpetrators of violence are enemies of
Bangladesh whose objective is to destabilize the
country.


5. (SBU) The Jhalkhati incident occurred one day after
the heads of government of the seven South Asian
countries that comprise SAARC promised at their Dhaka
summit to bolster counter-terrorism cooperation. Judges
and court premises featured prominently in the August 17
and October 3 bomb blasts. On November 8, police had
reportedly recovered 13 locally made bombs from an
abandoned building in Jhalakhati, a hub of ultra
Maoists, and arrested three persons for interrogation.

CHAMMAS