Khaleda Zia’s son, 29 others indicted in 2004 bombing

By IANS,

Dhaka : The son of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia and 29 others were Sunday indicted by a special court for a grenade attack in 2004 that killed 24 people.


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The special court framed the charges against 30 people, including Zia’s son Tarique Rahman, who is currently in Britain, Xinhua reported.

The court set March 28 for the next hearing in the case.

Twenty-four people, including Awami League leader Ivy Rahman, wife of President Mohammad Zillur Rahman, were killed in the grenade attack targeting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a rally in Dhaka Aug 21, 2004.

Around 200 people, including then opposition leader Hasina, were injured.

The attacks were believed to have been carried out by outlawed Islamist group Harkat-ul Jihad al Islami (HuJI).

Zia, also chairperson of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), said political vendetta was to blame in both her sons’ prosecution during Hasina’s regime.

Last year, her younger son, Arafat Rahman, now in Thailand, was sentenced to jail for six years on corruption and money laundering charges.

Since the end of her government in 2006, Zia’s elder son Tarique has faced 14 cases on charges of corruption and extortion.

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