Suspected Militant Arrested over Bangladesh Gay Activist Murders

Investigations led Bangladeshi police to Shariful Islam Shibab, a member of militant group, Ansarullah Bangla Team.

Only 1 of 15 killings such as that of Xulhaz Mannan has been prosecuted since 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

• Police in Bangladesh say they have arrested a suspected Muslim militant, Shariful Islam Shibab, a former member of a banned Islamic group Harkat-ul Jihad who joined another militant group, Ansarullah Bangla Team, in mid-2015, for his alleged involvement in the killing last month of a gay rights activist and his friend in the capital.

• Munirul Islam, head of a newly-formed police counterterrorism unit, told a news conference on Sunday that Shibab was arrested in the southwestern district of Kushtia based on evidence from the investigation.
  

• The Bangladeshi branch of al Qaeda had claimed responsibility for the 25 April killing of Xulhaz Mannan, an employee of US Agency for International Development, and his friend, Tanay Majumder.

• Only one of 15 such killings has been prosecuted since 2013.
  

Watch: LGBT Activist and USAID Employee Hacked to Death in Bangladesh