The High Court today acquitted all individuals convicted by the lower court in the murder and explosives cases filed over the deadly grenade attack on an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka on August 21, 2004.
A division bench comprising Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain delivered the verdict, overturning the lower court’s judgment in both cases after hearing death references and appeals.
The court stated in its brief judgment: “Death Reference is rejected, all appeals are allowed, all rules are absolute.” Defense counsel Mohammad Shishir Manir noted the court found the lower court trial “illegal” and said it was conducted without adherence to proper legal procedures, including the absence of eyewitness testimonies.
The High Court observed that the trial court relied heavily on the forced confessional statement of Mufti Abdul Hannan, which lacked evidential value.
The grenade attack, which occurred on August 21, 2004, claimed 24 lives and injured scores. On October 10, 2018, a Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal sentenced 19 individuals, including former state minister Lutfuzzaman Babar, to death and awarded life imprisonment to 19 others, including BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman.
All 38 individuals convicted in the 2018 judgment, including political figures such as Tarique Rahman and former state minister Babar, were acquitted today. The High Court concluded hearings on November 21 and announced the verdict, which had been pending.
The cases, one for murder and another under the Explosives Substances Act, were filed on August 22, 2004. The charge sheets were submitted in 2008, leading to the initial convictions now overturned.
