[JURIST] [JURIST] A Bangladeshi police official on Monday said that Bangladeshi police have arrested two suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) [JURIST backgrounder] on suspicion that the pair were planning to fight for IS in Syria. According to Sheikh Nazmul Alam, a senior official of the police detective branch, the men were detained [Reuters report] in Dhaka on Sunday night during a raid of the city. One man, Aminul Islam Baig, was an IT manager [Reuters report] at International Beverages Private Ltd, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Co. He also served as a regional coordinator for IS. The other, Sakib bin Kamal, was a school teacher in Dhaka. Alam stated that the two have admitted to having persuaded at least 25 students to join IS. The men also provided a list with the names of 20 accomplices who had been assisting them in their attempts to recruit more young members for IS. According to another police spokesperson, Monirul Islam, the men will soon be produced [AFP report] before a court and the police plan to “seek remand for further interrogation.”

IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has caused increasing international alarm over its human rights abuses [JURIST report] since its insurgence into Syria and Iraq in 2013. In April chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda said [JURIST report] that although IS has been accused of widespread atrocities throughout Iraq and Syra, her office lacks jurisdiction to open a formal investigation into the group. In March the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] reported that the actions of IS in Iraq may amount to genocide [JURIST report], crimes against humanity and war crimes. In February the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the OHCHR jointly released a report [JURIST report] detailing violations against Iraqi civilians under the spread of IS. Bensouda stated in November that the ICC was contemplating bringing war crimes charges against IS jihadist fighters