A Bangladesh court jailed 50 opposition activists on Thursday(4) for up to 10 years for an attack on the current prime minister's motorcade nearly two decades ago, a prosecutor said.
Among the defendants was a former member of parliament for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which was in power at the time of the attack.
In 2002, a motorcade accompanying Sheikh Hasina, who was then the opposition leader for Awami League, was attacked with rocks, batons and machetes, prosecutors said.
"Three men including the ex-MP were given 10 years in jail and the rest got various jail terms from four-and-a-half years," said prosecutor Shaheen Mirdha, after the sentences were delivered by a district court in the southern city of Satkhira.
Twelve of the convicts are currently on the run.
The prosecutor said the attack was one of many assassination attempts on Hasina, who was unhurt. Several of her Awami League followers and journalists were injured.
The opposition BNP made no immediate comment.
The BNP leader, Hasina's arch-rival Khaleda Zia, is serving a 17-year jail term for corruption imposed in 2018. Zia was prime minister at the time of the 2002 attack.
The BNP has accused the government of detaining tens of thousands of its activists using trumped-up charges in the 12 years that Hasina has been in power.
Tarique Rahman, Zia's son who lives in London, was sentenced in 2018 to life imprisonment for his role in a grenade attack on a Hasina rally in 2004. Nineteen people were sentenced to death in the case.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)