BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu freed after 17 years

Highlights: 

• Abdus Salam Pintu released from Kashimpur Jail after 17 years 
• He has been acquitted in the 21 August grenade attack case  
• He was sentenced to death in 2018, but it was overturned on 1 December  
• Pintu is set to visit former President Ziaur Rahman's grave and head to BNP headquarters 

Abdus Salam Pintu, former education minister and BNP central vice-chairman, was freed from jail today (24 December), after spending 17 years in custody. 

His release followed a High Court verdict acquitting him in the 21 August grenade attack case. Pintu was convicted and sentenced to death in 2018.

He was released from Kashimpur Central Jail-2 in Gazipur after the necessary legal procedures were completed around 11am, with his family members present at the time, confirmed Senior Jail Superintendent Al Mamun of Kashimpur Central Jail-2. 

Hundreds of BNP activists gathered at the prison gate to welcome him. Pintu was expected to visit the grave of former President Ziaur Rahman before heading to the BNP headquarters in Nayapaltan. 

In the subsequent trial, on 10 October 2018, 19 people, including former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar and Pintu, were sentenced to death. Another 19, including BNP's acting chairman Tarique Rahman, were given life imprisonment.

On 1 December, the court acquitted all defendants in the case, declaring the previous verdict invalid.

Abdus Salam Pintu was elected an MP from Tangail-2 in the 1991 and 2001 national elections and served as a junior minister in 2001. He was arrested in January 2008 for his involvement in the 21 August grenade attack and had been in prison since then.