Six Militants In Bangladesh Have Been Sentenced To Death For The Murder Of Gay Activists

On Tuesday, police escorted four of the eight accused to court.

A Bangladeshi court condemned six members of an Islamist militant organization to death on Tuesday for the savage execution of two LGBT rights activists five years ago.

In an attack claimed by Ansar Al Islam, the regional arm of al Qaeda, Xulhaz Mannan, 35, the editor of Bangladesh's first magazine for gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, and actor Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy, 25, were hacked to death in Mannan's apartment in the capital Dhaka in April 2016.

The executions were part of a wave of attacks on atheist bloggers, academics, and other minorities that horrified the 170 million-strong South Asian nation, prompting many to flee or seek asylum.

The six were also found guilty of belonging to a terrorist organization, Khan added, the al Qaeda-inspired local militant group Ansar Ullah Bangla Team, which police suspect is responsible for the murders of more than a dozen secular activists and bloggers.

Nazrul Islam, the men's lawyer, said they would appeal their sentences.

According to Khan, the tribunal acquitted two other suspects who are on the run and were tried in their absence. Two of the six individuals who were sentenced to death are on the run and were tried in their absence.