US embassy cable - 05DHAKA5593

UNCLAS DHAKA 005593 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, KISL, PGOV, BG, BG Terrorism 
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 Jhalkathi 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