Former PM Zia’s son, ex-minister acquitted over Hasina rally attack

The High Court here on Sunday scrapped the lower court’s verdict and acquitted all accused, including former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman and former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar, in a 2004 grenade attack in ousted premier Sheikh Hasina’s rally.

“The High Court annulled the trial court verdict and acquitted all convicts including Tarique Rahman,” a spokesman for the attorney general’s office said.

Rahman, 57, is the acting chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Two cases — one for murder and another under the Explosives Act — were filed after a grenade attack on an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka left 24 people dead and nearly 300 injured.

The HC bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain acquitted all 49 accused and observed that the trial court’s verdict in the cases was “illegal.” The High Court’s verdict comes after the Bench heard the death references and appeals related to the cases filed over the attack.

The trial court had delivered the judgement based on a confession by Mufti Abdul Hannan, the top leader of the banned Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) militant outfit who was accused in the case.

Hannan has been executed in connection with another case.

The High Court said the confessional statement had no evidential value as it was taken on force and not examined properly by the magistrate concerned.

On November 21, the Bench kept the death references and the appeals filed by the convicted accused in the cases as curia advisari vult after it concluded a hearing on those matters.