The state-appointed counsel for BNP Senior Vice-President Tarique Rahman on Monday claimed his client is not guilty in two “politically motivated” cases filed over the deadly grenade attack on an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004.
Advocate AKM Akhter Hossain made the statement while placing defence arguments for his absent client in front of Judge Shahed Nur Uddin of Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1.
Tarique Rahman is currently staying in the UK.
“Police did not mention Tarique Rahman’s name in the First Information Report (FIR) of the case. His name was not mentioned in the general diaries filed by Awami League leaders either. Tarique’s name even didn’t appear in the list of people involved in sourcing, developing, key planning, implementing and plotting. There is no chance of him being involved in the incident. He is innocent,” AKM Akhter said.
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“None of the 408 witnesses of the case mentioned Tarique’s name in their statements.”
On December 27 last year, the prosecution concluded their closing arguments requesting maximum punishment for all the accused, including Tarique, in the cases.
The makeshift court set up at a building near the gate of former Dhaka Central Jail on Nazimuddin Road, is simultaneously holding the trials in the cases — one for the murder and another under Explosive Substances Act.
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The grisly attack on the Awami League rally in the capital left 24 people, including Ivy Rahman, wife of late president Zillur Rahman, dead and more than 300 others injured.
The incumbent prime minister, then opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina survived the attack with serious hearing impairment.
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Of the 52 accused in the two cases, eight are on bail while 24 others, including former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar, are behind bars.
BNP Senior Vice-President Tarique Rahman and 17 other accused have been declared absconding and three accused – Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Motiur Rahman Nizami and leader of Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB) Mufti Abdul Hannan – were hanged in other cases.Parts of the article were first published on the banglatribune.com