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The High Court (HC) today acquitted all the people convicted by the lower court in murder and explosives substances act cases filed over the grenade attack on an Awami League rally in the capital’s Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004.
A High Court division bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain pronounced the verdicts, scrapping lower court judgment in the two cases.
The court came up with the verdict after holding a hearing on the death references, criminal and jail appeals filed in the two cases.
Senior judge of the bench Justice AKM Asaduzzaman started reading out the summary of the judgment at 11.10 am and completed at 11.45 am at the jam-packed courtroom.
“Death Reference is rejected, all appeals are allowed, all rules are absolute” said the identical short judgments pronounced by the High Court bench.
“The court today scrapped the lower court judgment and acquitted all the convicts including Tarique Rahman and Lutfuzzaman Babar. It rejected all the death references and allowed all the appeals,” defence counsel Mohammad Shishir Manir said.
“The court also observed that the lower court trial was illegal as it was not held in line with the law. No eyewitnesses were examined in the cases, rather all the witnesses, who were examined, heard about the incident,” he said.
Advocate Manir further said the court also observed that the lower court concerned delivered the judgement on the basis of a confessional statement of Mufti Abdul Hannan, adding, “But his confessional statement has no evidential value as it was taken by force.”
The High Court concluded its hearing on November 21 and kept the matters on the Curia Advisory Vault (CAV), a Latin legal term meaning the court awaits the verdict. The two case matters came up on the cause list for today.
At least 24 people were killed and many others were injured in August 21 attack, 2004.
A Dhaka court on October 10, 2018, sentenced to death 19 people, including former state minister for home Lutfuzzaman Babar, and awarded life imprisonment to another 19, including BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, in the murder case filed over the incident.
In his judgement, Judge Shahed Nuruddin of Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal also sentenced 11 others to different terms of jail.
The death penalty convicts acquitted today are: Lutfuzzaman Babar, Abdus Salam Pintu, Mawlana Tajuddin, intelligence officials Major General (Retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury and Brigadier General Abdur Rahim, Md Hanif, Mowlana Sheikh Abdus Salam, Abdul Mazed Bhat, Abdul Malek, Shawkat Osman, Mohibullah, Abu Sayeed, Abul Kalam Azad, Jahangir Alam, Hafez Abu Taher, Hossain Ahammed Tamim, Moin Uddin Sheikh, Rafikul Islam and Md Uzzal.
Other than Rahman, the life awardee political figures acquitted today are – ex-premier Khaleda Zia’s then-political adviser Haris Chowdhury and former BNP lawmaker Qazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad.
The other life awardee persons acquitted are – Shahadat Ullah alias Jewel, Abdur Rouf, Sabbir Ahmed, Arif Hasan, Hafez Yahia, Abu Bokor, Ariful Islam, Mohibul Muttakin, Anisul Mursalin, Mohammad Khalil, Jahangir Alam Badar, Mohammad Iqbal, Liton, Shafikur Rahman, Abdul Hai and Ratul Ahmed Babu.
Two separate cases, one for murder and another under the Explosives Substances Act were filed on August 22, 2004 over the grenade attack. The police on June 9, 2008, filed the charge sheet. The court on September 29, 2008, framed charges in the cases.