Reza Mahmud :
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman will return home at any time as the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division on Thursday upheld the High Court verdict acquitting him and other accused in the 21 August grenade attack cases.
Before this, Tarique Rahman has been acquitted from all cases filed against him during the Hasina era, sources said.
As the last case he has been acquitted, there was no bar to his return to the country from London where he was living in self-imposed exile since 2008. He went into exile due to concerns for his safety after the 2008 general election, citing a claimed persecution by the authorities.
When contacted, BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed on Thursday told The New Nation, “We hope that Tarique Rahman will back home very soon.”
He said, “There is no certain schedule of his return, but we are hopeful that the countrymen will get him very soon among them.”
Party sources said, Tarique Rahman has planned to return home and lead the party’s election race of mid-February.
The Supreme Court’s Appellate Division acquitted Tarique Rahman and other accused in the 21 August grenade attack cases, prompting the BNP to hail the ruling as a long-awaited recognition of Tarique’s innocence.
A six-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed delivered the unanimous ruling at 10:05 am, dismissing the state’s appeal against the High Court judgment. By 10:18 am, the Chief Justice had read out the verdict, which confirmed Tarique’s acquittal and overturned the life sentence handed down by the Speedy Trial Tribunal in 2018.
The court also struck down certain observations made by the High Court, including its call for a fresh investigation. The Appellate Division left the question of reopening the case to the government’s discretion, saying, “Whether there will be a new investigation is a matter for the authorities.”
Speaking to reporters shortly after the verdict, BNP’s Law Affairs Secretary Barrister Kaiser Kamal said the ruling proved that Tarique Rahman had been falsely implicated in the politically sensitive case.
“Sheikh Hasina, out of personal vendetta, unjustly included Tarique Rahman in the 21 August grenade attack case. Today, through the Supreme Court, it has been established that he is innocent. That is why he has been acquitted,” Kamal said.
He added that the ruling also exposed what he called the insincerity of the Awami League leadership in pursuing justice for the victims. “This verdict has proven that Sheikh Hasina never truly wanted justice for the August 21 attack or for the killing of Ivy Rahman. If she had, she would not have dragged Tarique Rahman into the case out of political vengeance,” he said. “On behalf of the BNP, we give thanks to Almighty Allah for ensuring justice.”
The case stems from the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue on 21 August 2004, which killed 24 people and injured over 100. Then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped death, though many senior Awami League leaders were injured.
In October 2018, the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal sentenced 19 people to death, including former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar and former deputy education minister Abdus Salam Pintu. Tarique Rahman and 18 others were sentenced to life imprisonment, while 11 others received varying prison terms and fines.
However, in December 2023, the High Court found the supplementary charge sheet-on which the trial had been conducted-to be unlawful, ruling that the tribunal’s judgment had no legal basis. The court consequently acquitted all accused, rejecting the death references and allowing the appeals filed by the convicts.
For BNP leaders and supporters, the ruling represents vindication after years of insisting that Tarique was framed for political reasons. Party insiders said the verdict would strengthen Tarique’s standing as the party’s acting chairman and reinforce their argument that past governments had weaponised the justice system against the opposition.
Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said on Thursday that the government will provide necessary assistance with travel documents if BNP Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman chooses to return to Bangladesh. “The decision to return is entirely his, but whenever required, the government will take steps regarding his passport or other travel documents,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In response to a query, the adviser said he was not aware of whether the BNP leader had applied for a passport at the Bangladesh High Commission in London. Touhid further noted that Tarique Rahman must first make up his mind about coming back.
