Aug 21 Grenade Attack: Road to justice still not over

It is still uncertain when the August 21 grenade attack cases will reach the eventuality although the High Court has so far held hearings on death references and appeals for 91 working days since December 5, 2022.

The cases were filed after the gruesome attacks on an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka on August 21, 2004, leaving at least 24 people dead and 300 injured.

The then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina, now the prime minister, narrowly escaped death in the incident.

The state counsels (deputy attorney generals and assistant attorney generals) have read out from the paper books, which contain all the details of a case, trial proceedings, statements, evidence, verdicts and other documents of the cases, for 61 days before the HC bench of Justice Shahidul Karim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman.

Then the defence counsels have placed arguments for 30 days till June 12 before the bench on behalf of 24 convicted accused out of total 49.

The HC bench will resume the hearing on June 30, court sources said.

Once the defence lawyers finish placing arguments, the state counsels will make arguments against the convicted accused and then the defence will give reply to their (state) arguments, Deputy Attorney General Bashir Ahmed told The Daily Star on June 20.

After concluding the hearings, the HC bench will deliver a verdict on the death references, and the appeals, filed by the convicted accused challenging the trial court judgement.

DAG Bashir said after the HC will release the full text of the verdict, both the state and defence will have scope to move appeals before the Supreme Court.

Then few years' time may be needed by the Appellate Division for disposing of the appeals, and later on, the parties will have an option to move review petitions challenging the apex court judgement.

That is why, it cannot be said at this stage how much time will be needed for reaching the finality of the cases, he added.

A Dhaka court on October 10, 2018 sentenced 19 people, including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar to death in the two cases filed in connection with the grenade attacks.

Nineteen others including BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman were given life imprisonment and 11 people were handed different terms in prison.

Eighteen of the convicted accused, including Tarique, who is in London, are absconding and 31 are in jail.

The death references of the cases reached the HC on November 27, 2018, for examination of the trial court's verdict.

On January 13, 2019, the HC accepted the appeals filed by the convicts for hearing. The same day, the HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim (now a judge of the Appellate Division) and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman also stayed parts of the trial court verdict that fined the convicts.