Prosecutors seek death for Bangladesh opposition leader's son in grenade attack case

Prosecutors at a court in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka sought death sentences for Tarique Rahman and 48 others, including the then-home minister and the chiefs of major intelligence agencies, on Monday.
 
Chief prosecutor Syed Rezaur Rahman said that meetings to plan the attack were held at Tarique Rahman's office in Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) headquarters.
 
"He assured all sorts of administrative and monetary help to the killers," media outlets quoted the prosecutor as saying.
 
Summarizing his speech to the court, the prosecutor also noted that a brother of a minister in Zia's administration who fled to Pakistan had distributed the grenades to the killers. He said the aim had been to kill current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and leaders of her Awami League party.
 
On August 21, 2004, over 20 people were killed and hundreds more injured in an assault on a rally led by Hasina when she was in opposition and Zia was in power. More than 10 grenades were thrown into the rally of thousands of Hasina followers in Dhaka. Hasina was among hundreds injured.
 
Zia’s government initially blamed a street hawker for the attack.
 
Tarique Rahman, who is widely expected to succeed Zia as the next leader of the BNP, says the criminal conspiracy case against him is part of a political witch-hunt. He has lived in London since 2008 and it is not clear whether he will return to Bangladesh to face trial. Bangladesh does not have an extradition treaty with Britain.
 
Zia, a two-time prime minister, also faces charges related to violence and corruption. Her trial on two graft charges is expected to end this month.
 
Bangladesh’s volatile political landscape has long been dominated by the bitter rivalry between the two women.
 
Zia and Hasina have been arch-rivals for three decades, during which they have alternated in power.
 
Bangladesh has a long history of military coups, violence and political instability. The country has also faced a series of militant attacks, the most serious on July 1 last year, when gunmen stormed a cafe in the capital, and killed 20 hostages, most of them foreigners.