Four Bangladeshi workers detained in April under the Internal Security Act were yesterday convicted of financing terrorism.

Rahman Mizanur, 31, Miah Rubel, 26, Md Jabath Kysar Haje Norul Islam Sowdagar, 31, and Sohel Hawlader Ismail Hawlader, 29, pleaded guilty yesterday. They were charged last Friday with providing or collecting money to fund terrorist acts in Bangladesh.

Miah and Jabath were also accused of possessing money for these terrorist purposes.

The four were part of a group of six charged under the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act, the first time the Act has been used for prosecution.

The remaining two men from the group - Zzaman Daulat, 34, and Mamun Leakot Ali, 29 - have denied the financing terrorism charges. A pre-trial conference for them has been set for June 9.

The six were among eight men arrested between late March and early April. Working in the marine and construction industries, they called themselves the Islamic State in Bangladesh. They were planning attacks back home in hopes of toppling their government and bringing Bangladesh under the self-declared caliphate of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The prosecution sought a three-week adjournment to prepare submissions for sentencing. The four men are expected to be sentenced on June 21.