August 21 Grenade Attack: Hearing on appeal against acquittal of Tarique, others set for Thursday

The Appellate Division of Bangladesh’s Supreme Court has scheduled the hearing of the appeal against the acquittal of all accused in the highly controversial August 21 grenade attack case for this Thursday. The appeal concerns life-imprisoned BNP leader Tareq Rahman and former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar, who was sentenced to death.

A five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refat Ahmed, issued the order on Tuesday (July 15).

Senior BNP lawyers present in court included Barrister Zamir Uddin Sarkar, Zainul Abedin, Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khok, Barrister Kaiser Kamal, Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajol, and several others. Attorney General Md. Asaduzzaman represented the state.

The Appellate Division had earlier, on June 1, granted the prosecution permission to appeal the High Court’s acquittal verdict. This move followed the state’s challenge to the High Court decision that had acquitted all accused, including Tareq Rahman and Lutfuzzaman Babar.

The High Court had delivered the acquittal verdict on January 12, overturning the verdict of the trial court. The bench, comprising Justice A.K.M. Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain, ruled that the trial was illegal and that the charge sheet used by the lower court was legally unacceptable.

In the original trial verdict on October 10, 2018, former State Minister Lutfuzzaman Babar and former Deputy Minister Abdus Salam Pintu were sentenced to death for their involvement in the attack. Meanwhile, BNP Acting Chairman Tareq Rahman, Khaleda Zia’s political secretary Haris Chowdhury, BNP leader Kazi Shah Moazzem Hossain Kaykobad, and 19 others received life imprisonment.

The trial court’s verdict and related documents were subsequently forwarded to the High Court’s death reference section on November 27, 2018.