21 Aug grenade attack: Appellate Division upholds HC order acquitting Tarique, Babar, all other accused

Highlights

• On 1 December, HC had acquitted all accused in the case
• On 1 June, the Appellate Division granted permission to appeal against the HC ruling
• The state filed separate leave-to-appeal petitions

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has upheld the verdict of the High Court, acquitting all accused, including former state minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar—who was sentenced to death—and BNP's acting chairman Tarique Rahman—who had been sentenced to life imprisonment—in two cases filed over the grenade attack on an Awami League rally in Dhaka on 21 August 2004.

The verdict was announced today (4 September), by a six-member Appellate Bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed after disposing a state appeal challenging the High Court's previous verdict.

Earlier, on 21 August, the Appellate Division concluded a five-day hearing on the appeal and scheduled the verdict for 4 September.

Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud represented the state during the hearing. Senior lawyer SM Shahjahan and Barrister Md Shishir Monir appeared on behalf of the accused.

On 1 December 2024, a High Court bench consisting of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman (now an Appellate Division judge) and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain had acquitted all 38 accused in the cases, dismissing the lower court verdict in the two cases.

Mohammad Shishir Manir, a defence attorney for the accused, said the trial conducted was illegal because it was not based on the law, citing court observation that there was no collaboration between [the testimonies of] any of the witnesses. "The conviction was based solely on the hearsay testimonies of witnesses."

He also stated that the court noted the lower court had delivered its judgment based on Mufti Abdul Hannan's confessional statement, which holds no evidential value as it was taken by force.

Delivering the full text of the verdict on 19 December that year, the High Court observed that the case should be sent to the home ministry for a fresh investigation by a qualified and expert agency, and termed the attack as a heinous, tragic incident in the history of the country.

The court also declared the charge sheet in the case "illegal."

Subsequently, the state filed its appeal against the High Court verdict on 19 March.

On 1 June, the Appellate Division granted permission to appeal against the High Court ruling, after which the hearing on the appeal began.

The grenade attack on 21 August 2004 targeted an Awami League rally led by Sheikh Hasina, then the opposition leader, killing 24 people including then Awami League women's affairs secretary Ivy Rahman.

In 2018, a lower court sentenced 19 people, including Babar and BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintoo, to death. Besides, 19 others including Tarique were given life sentences and 11 others were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment.

The High Court began hearing appeals in December 2022 after receiving the trial court's judgment for review.

Tarique acquitted in almost all cases

As Tarique Rahman is now acquitted in almost all cases against him, he has no legal obstacles to returning to Bangladesh.

According to Tarique's lawyers, a total of 84 cases were filed against him over the years. Of these, he was convicted by trial courts in five cases, including the 21 August grenade attack case, the Zia Orphanage Trust case, a money laundering case, a defamation case in Narail, and a case over amassing wealth beyond known sources of income.

However, since 5 August last year, he has been acquitted of all these convictions by the High Court.

Tarique, who has been in the UK since 2008, is expected to return to Bangladesh soon, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on 10 June. Fakhrul, however, then did not give any exact date for Tarique's return. Two days later, on 12 June, Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury also said there is no obstacle to Tarique Rahman returning to Bangladesh. "He is a citizen of this country and can come back whenever he wishes."