NILPHAMARI: A court here Tuesday sentenced eight local-level commanders of the banned Islamist outfit Jamatul Mujahedin Bangladesh to double life imprisonment in a twin-case of possessing arms and explosives.

Judge Abdur Rashid Mia of the special tribunal-3 of Joint District and Sessions Judge’s Court awarded the eight JMB leaders the rigorous imprisonments.

The convicts were also fined to pay Tk 25,000 each or serve one year more in jail.

They are JMB Nilphamari district commander Wahedul Islam alias Sayem alias Al Mamun, Thakurgaon district commander Faruk Hossain alias Amjad, Parbatipur thana commander Kamal Hossain, divisional commander Abdur Rashid Asif, former commander of Nilphamari and Rangpur districts Moniruzzaman alias Iqbal, Kurigram district commander Abu Bakr Siddiq alias Nahid, Kurigram Sadar thana commander Ehsanul Haque alias Mejbah and Rangpur Sadar thana commander Shahabuddin alias Ahmed Musa.

Strict security measures were taken on the court premises as militants earlier had threatened life of the judge over the verdict.

According to the prosecution, the JMB leaders were arrested from a house at Kazipara in Syedpur upazila on February 6, 2006 while holding a “clandestine meeting”.

Later, SI Qamrul Islam of RAB 10 filed two cases with Syedpur thana on February 7 under the arms and explosives acts.

BDST: 1441 HRS. AUGUST 31, 2010