Appeal decision on 21 Aug attack case after receiving HC verdict: AG
The High Court today scrapped the verdict of the lower court in the two cases filed over the sensational 2004 attack, acquitting all convicts
The state will decide soon on filing an appeal with the Appellate Division challenging the High Court verdict that annulled the lower court verdict and acquitted all the accused from the 21 August grenade attack cases, said Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman today (1 December).
"The decision will be made after reviewing the reasoning behind the judgment and the directions provided. I think an appeal should be filed," Asaduzzaman told The Business Standard this afternoon.
Earlier in the day, the High Court scrapped the verdict of the lower court in the two cases filed over the sensational 2004 attack, acquitting all convicts, including BNP's Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman and former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar.
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The bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain delivered the judgment, after hearing the appeals and death references in the murder and explosives cases related to the attack that had killed 24 people and left hundreds injured.
The court also declared the whole trial proceedings of the case illegal, including the charge sheet.
Talking to reporters after the judgment, defence lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir said, "The trial conducted was illegal because it was not based on the law.
"The court said there was no collaboration between [the testimonies of] any of the witnesses. The conviction was based solely on the hearsay testimonies of witnesses."
In its observation, Shishir said, the court also mentioned that the witnesses failed to clarify who had thrown the grenades during the attack and only described the incident. "Besides, no investigation officer in the charge sheet mentioned who had supplied the grenades."
Sharing more observations of the court, the lawyer said the court observed that there was no evidence of anyone having seen or witnessed the incident firsthand.
"The court also observed that confessional statements taken from the accused were extracted through torture," he added.
On 21 August 2004, the grenade attack was carried out targeting a rally of the Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital. The attack, which took place during the tenure of the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami coalition government, killed 24 people including then Awami League women's affairs secretary Ivy Rahman.
