Government files appeal against the acquittal of Tarique and others in the August 21 grenade attack case

The interim government has filed an appeal challenging the acquittal of all accused, including BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, in the August 21 grenade attack case, the Attorney General’s Office announced on Wednesday.  

On December 1 last year, the High Court bench comprising Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain overturned the trial court’s verdicts, deeming them “illegal.”  

Earlier, on October 10, 2018, a Dhaka court sentenced 19 individuals, mostly BNP activists, including former home minister Lutfuzzaman Babar, to death, while 19 others, including Tarique Rahman, received life imprisonment.  

The attack, which occurred on August 21, 2004, during the BNP’s second term in office, involved a series of grenade explosions at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka, resulting in 24 fatalities and over 300 injuries. Among the deceased were Awami League leaders, including Ivy Rahman, while then-opposition leader Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped.