[JURIST] A Bangladesh court on Sunday sentenced seven members of the banned Islamic Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) [SATP backgrounder] group to life in prison for their roles in two 2005 bombings in the country. The men, Torikul Islam, Shafiullah Tarek Kalam, Abu Isa, Hasan Ali Ekhwan, Jahangir Alam Abidur, Arif, and Sheikh Enamul Haq Moni, who was tried in absentia, were convicted [Daily Star report] under Bangladesh's Explosive Substances Act 1908 [text, PDF]. The men were also ordered to pay fines or face additional jail time. The attacks were part of a larger bombing campaign [JURIST report; BBC report] allegedly carried out by JMB in which more than 400 bombs were exploded and at least 26 were killed.

In January 2008, seven other suspects linked to JMB bombings were also sentenced to life in prison [JURIST report]. In 2007, six top JMB members were executed by hanging after the Bangladesh High Court in 2006 confirmed death sentences imposed by a trial court for the murder of two judges [JURIST reports] during the bombings. In 2006, three other JMB members were sentenced to death [JURIST report] and five others sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in the bombings.