Bangladesh court sentences six people to death for killing gay rights campaigners

Six members of an extremist Islamist militant group have been sentenced to death by a court in Bangladesh for the brutal killing of two gay rights campaigners five years ago.

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

The killings were part of a series of attacks on atheist bloggers, academics and other minorities that shocked the South Asian nation of 170 million and led many to go into hiding or flee abroad.

Of the eight defendants in the case, six were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, public prosecutor Golam Sarwar Khan said on Tuesday.

The Special Anti-Terrorism Tribunal also convicted the six of belonging to a terrorist organisation, the al Qaeda-inspired domestic militant organisation Ansar Ullah Bangla Team, Khan said, a group that police believe is responsible for the murders of more than a dozen secular activists and bloggers.

The men's defence lawyer Nazrul Islam said they would appeal their sentences.

The tribunal acquitted two other defendants, who are on the run and were tried in absentia, Khan said. Of the six men sentenced to death, two are also on the run and were tried in absentia.

One of them is Syed Ziaul Haq, a sacked army major believed to be the group leader and accused of masterminding the killings.

Mannan's magazine, Roopbaan, had no official permission to publish in Bangladesh, a country where same-sex relationships are illegal and the LGBTIQ+ community has long been marginalised.

"We are happy with the judgement. At least after a long time, we get justice," said Shahanur Islam, a gay rights campaigner.

"But as the LGBT activist as well as anti-death penalty activist, I always prefer a life sentence ... instead of death penalty," Mr Islam said.

LGBTIQ+ Australians seeking support with mental health can contact QLife on 1800 184 527 or visit qlife.org.au. ReachOut.com also has a list of support services. 

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