Bangladesh court acquits key political figures in 2004 grenade attack

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladesh’s High Court acquitted former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s son on Sunday in absentia over a 2004 grenade attack on a political rally in the capital Dhaka.

The court cleared Tarique Rahman, who is the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and 48 others over the attack that killed 24 people and injured then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina was leading the Awami League, which was the opposition party at the time, while Zia was prime minister.

In 2018, a lower court found them guilty in the case, which the High Court said “did not follow proper legal procedure.”

“The trial in the lower court was declared illegal in the High Court verdict. The trial in the trial court was not based on the law,” defense lawyer Shishir Monir told reporters.

Monir said the original verdict was given based on hearsay evidence.

The High Court verdict rejected the death reference against the verdict of the trial court. As a result, all the convicted accused in the case have been acquitted, he added.

The High Court bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain delivered the verdict.

The lower court earlier sentenced 19 of the accused to death, including former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu. Rahman was given life imprisonment.

Eleven police officials had been given various prison sentences in the lower court verdict.

Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman told reporters that they would appeal against the High Court verdict.

There were allegations that the coalition government led by the BNP had tried to manipulate the case.

In 2007, the caretaker government launched an investigation into the two related cases. In 2008, police filed a new charge sheet. Later, during the Awami League government, the case was further investigated.