Staff CorrespondentDhaka – The Bangladeshi High Court on Sunday acquitted all individuals convicted by a trial court for their alleged involvement in the 2004 grenade attack on a political rally that killed 24 people and injured many others in downtown Dhaka.
The verdict comes more than two decades after the deadly attack.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain delivered the ruling after reviewing the death references, criminal appeals, and jail appeals filed in connection with the case.
The attack targeted a rally organized by the then-opposition Bangladesh Awami League (AL) party on August 21, 2004.
The grenade attack, which left 24 people dead and many more injured, was previously described by the trial court as a coordinated assault by militant groups with alleged support from state apparatus aimed at eliminating the opposition.
Sheikh Hasina, the then-opposition leader and later became prime minister who governed Bangladesh for 15 years until being ousted in August, narrowly escaped the attacks.
In October 2018, a trial court sentenced 19 people, including former Home Minister Lutfozzaman Babar of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government, to death for their alleged roles in the attack.
BNP’s acting chairperson Tarique Rahman, currently living in exile in London, was among 19 others sentenced to life imprisonment. An additional 11 individuals, mostly senior officers of the law enforcement agencies, received varying prison terms.
In its ruling on Sunday, the High Court overturned these convictions, declaring the trial court’s verdict illegal.
According to the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency, the bench stated, “Death Reference is rejected, all appeals are allowed.”
The court found that the trial court had based its verdict primarily on a supplementary confessional statement by Mufti Abdul Hannan, one of the accused who was executed in a separate case.
The High Court noted that Hannan’s statement had no evidentiary value as it was allegedly obtained under duress and not verified through proper legal processes.
The court further ruled that the acquittal would also apply to other accused individuals who were unable to personally appeal.
Kayser Kamal, a defense lawyer and law secretary of the opposition BNP, expressed satisfaction with the verdict, calling it a victory for justice.
Speaking to reporters, he stated, “The charges brought against Tarique Rahman by the previous Awami League government were politically motivated.”
The High Court has now declared them illegal.
“We are happy that justice has been served.”
The High Court concluded its hearings on the case on November 21, 2023, and announced the verdict on Sunday.
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