A Bangladeshi court on Tuesday sentenced to death by hanging three Islamic militants convicted of plotting to kill the British ambassador in a grenade attack four years ago. The British High Commission (embassy) in Dhaka immediately welcomed a resolution in the case but condemned the death sentences.The three men, along with two others sentenced to life imprisonment, were convicted in a fast-track court in the northeastern city of Sylhet for the blasts, which left at least three people dead and scores wounded. "The judge said the charges against the five have been proved beyond doubt. He sentenced three militants, including Harkat-ul Jihad al Islami (HUJI) leader Mufti Abdul Hannan, to be hanged," police inspector Abdul Ahad Chowdhury said. They were convicted of murder, use of explosives and masterminding the May 2004 attack on Anwar Choudhury, the then British high commissioner in Dhaka.
The assassination attempt came weeks after the Bangladeshi-born diplomat, who moved to Britain as a child, took up his posting. He was making his first visit to his place of birth in Sylhet when he was attacked. Choudhury, who finished his posting this year and is now in Britain, was slightly injured by the grenades. A British High Commission spokesman in Dhaka told AFP the mission welcomed the case being completed but opposed the use of the death penalty.