Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
The High Court on Sunday acquitted all the accused in the August 21 grenade attack cases including BNP acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman and former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar.
The High Court bench, led by Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayetur Rahman, delivered the verdict.
Deputy Attorney General Md Jasim Sorkar, Russell Ahmed, and Assistant Attorney General Laboni Akhter represented the state in court.
Senior lawyer SM Shahjahan appeared on behalf of several convicts, including Abdus Salam Pintu.
Lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir represented Lutfozzaman Babar and three other accused.
About the attack
The cases stem from the grenade attack on an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka on August 21, 2004. The attack left 24 people dead and injured approximately 300 others.
Sheikh Hasina, the then opposition leader and a target of the attack, narrowly escaped harm. She later served as prime minister for 15 years but resigned and fled the country on August 5 this year amid a mass uprising.
Earlier court decisions
On October 10, 2018, a Dhaka court sentenced 19 individuals, including former BNP state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, to death over their involvement in the attack.
Another 19 individuals, including BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, now in London, were sentenced to life imprisonment. Eleven others received varying prison sentences.
Of the convicted individuals, 18 remain at large, while 31 are currently in custody.
