Nineteen years have passed since the sensational 10-truck arms haul smuggling incident and nine years since the verdict in the cases. But there has been no visible progress in the appeal hearing at the Supreme Court.
Judge SM Mojibur Rahman of the Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Court and the Special Tribunal 1 delivered the verdict on January 30, 2014. The court released the full verdict in the case on February 4 of the same year and the High Court received the documents within two days.
Since then, the proceedings have not seen any progress except for the filing of appeals against the death sentences by the convicts in 2014, and reforming the designated bench multiple times to start hearing of death references and appeals.
The High Court had set October 18 last year to start the hearing, but it was deferred again to January 3. No new date was set after that day.
On April 2, 2004, law enforcers and the Bangladesh Coast Guard personnel seized the 10 truckloads of arms, ammunition and explosives while those were being off-loaded in CUFL jetty area under the Karnaphuli police station.
The special tribunal sentenced 14, including two ministers -- Matiur Rahman Nizami and Lutfozzaman Babar -- of the then BNP-led 4-party alliance government, to death in the arms smuggling case of the 10-truck arms haul. The same convicts were awarded life term imprisonment in the arms case.
Of the convicts, Nizami was executed in a war crimes case in 2016. Another death-row convict, former director general of National Security Intelligence (NSI) Abdur Rahim, died in 2021. While the third convict, Din Mohammad, died on October 17 last year.
Dhaka Tribune spoke to Kamal Uddin Ahmed, the then public prosecutor of the Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Court, and Deputy Attorney General of the High Court on Sunday
He said after the incident, the cases were filed using a different strategy. Those who were not involved in the case were also made accused. And the trial proceedings were delayed during the BNP-Jamaat government. Later, during the caretaker government, only those who were originally involved were made accused through further investigation.
“Death reference cases are delayed due to the procedure. It should be noted that it is a criminal trial, not a civil one. The case is progressing in accordance with the rules,” he added.
