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Aug 21 Case

Defence for 4 fugitives concludes arguments

Court Correspondent
State-appointed defence lawyers for four more fugitive accused, including Moulana Tajuddin, yesterday completed their closing arguments in the cases filed over the August 21 grenade attack and sought their clients' acquittal.
The other accused are Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Moulana Liton and Md Iqbal.
During yesterday's arguments, Ashraful Alam, lawyer for Tajuddin, who has been accused of supplying the grenades for the attack, told the court that Mufti Hannan and two other accused in their confessional statements mentioned that his client provided the grenades.
According to the charge sheet, Tajuddin brought 15 Arges grenades from Pakistan for the grisly attack on the Awami League rally on August 21,2004.
None of the 223 prosecution witnesses in their statements, however, mention his client's name, Ashraful said.
He appealed to the court to acquit his client, the lawyer added.
Three other state-appointed defence lawyers - Mazharul Quddus, Mahbub Alam and Ali Abdul Baten, who were representing Shafiqur, Liton and Iqbal -said their clients' names were not in the first information report and that they were not involved in the attack. They sought their clients' acquittal.
Saifur Rashid Sabuj, a lawyer for three other accused, including Munshi Mohibullah alias Ovi, brother of Huji leader Mufti Abdul Hannan, started his closing arguments.
Saifur will continue his arguments today for his clients Ovi, Abu Bakkar Siddique and Abul Kalam Azad alias Bulbul, who are now in jail, as fudge Shahed Nuruddin of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 adjourned the proceedings yesterday.
Earlier, state-appointed defence lawyers for eight other fugitive accused, including Md Hanif and Harris Chowdhury, concluded their closing arguments.
Twenty-four leaders and activists of the AL and its associate bodies were killed and over 300 others suffered splinter injuries in the August 21 attack on Bangabandhu Avenue.
Many of the injured became crippled for life while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the then opposition leader, narrowly escaped the attack with ear injuries.
Of the 49 accused in the two cases filed over the attack, eight, including three former inspector generals of police, are now on bail, while 18, including Tarique, have been absconding.
Twenty-three other accused, including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and former deputy minister for education Abdus Salam Pintu, now behind bars, were produced before the court yesterday.