Bangladesh: Awami League condemns judiciary for legitimising 'inhuman, conspiratorial politics of mass killing'

Dhaka, Sep 5 (IANS) Bangladesh’s Awami League party on Friday strongly condemned the unprecedented use of the country’s judiciary to legitimise “inhuman, conspiratorial politics of mass killing”.

The remarks came after the acquittal of 49 accused by Bangladesh’s apex court on Thursday in the brutal 2004 grenade attack in Dhaka, which killed 24 people and injured hundreds.

Local media reported that the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the 2024 High Court's ruling that acquitted all 49 accused, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar.

“This proves that in today’s Bangladesh, the courts are not upholding justice, but rather undermining the rights of justice seekers. By using the judiciary, the accused directly involved in broad daylight mass killing have been acquitted. What a cruel and merciless act! Then who is responsible for the grievous loss of life in this monstrous event? The responsibility to answer this lies with the court,” read a statement issued by the Awami League.

“Bangladesh Awami League believes this verdict is not only against justice, but also a dark signal that legitimizes the politics of murder and conspiracy. By destroying the image of the judiciary, an unprecedented and shameful history has been created before humanity. Using the court to absolve the killers is a cruel mockery of democracy, justice, and human rights,” the statement added.

The grenade attack on August 21, 2004, was carried out during the coalition government of BNP and radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, targeting an Awami League rally led by the then leader of the opposition, Sheikh Hasina, at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka.

According to the Awami League, the prime target of the attack was Hasina, along with the top leadership of the Awami League, with the aim of wiping them out forever. In this barbaric assault, the party said, 24 people lost their lives and hundreds were grievously injured, many of whom still live with grenade splinters in their bodies in unbearable suffering.

Condemning the verdict, the party asserted that this "farcical ruling" over the August 21, 2004, massacre will push Bangladesh to the edge of a "deep abyss". It warned that the country would stand as a glaring example of dysfunction where public faith in state functionality, justice, and citizens’ rights would erode. The Awami League emphasised that Bangladesh cannot move forward amid such widespread mistrust and disbelief among its people.

“This fabricated verdict has wounded and enraged that great humane spirit filled with compassion. With the democratic and humanist people of this land, our all-out struggle against this shameful incident will continue, and one day, through a golden sunrise, those deprived of justice will find it,” the party stated.

Asserting that ensuring justice for the victims remains the Awami League’s unwavering political commitment, the party pledged that the trial of this disgraceful chapter in national history will one day be carried out on the soil of Bangladesh.

--IANS

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