[JURIST] Three men were sentenced to death and five men to life in prison in Bangladesh [JURIST news archive] Tuesday for their involvement in a series of bombings on police, court and government buildings [JURIST report; BBC report] last year. All eight men are members of the Islamist militant group Jamaat-ul Mujahideen [SATP backgrounder], which wants to turn Bangladesh into an Islamic state governed by Sharia law [CFR backgrounder]. The August bombing campaign last year saw more than 430 homemade bombs explode within 30 minutes across the country, killing at least two and injuring more than 125 people.

A Bangladesh court in January also sentenced a Jamaat-ul Mujahideen member to life in prison for his role in the August bombings. Courts and judges have been targeted in subsequent bombings, which have killed two judges [JURIST report]. In May, a court sentenced seven Islamists to death for the judges deaths [JURIST report]. Aljazeera has more.