The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Sheikh Hasina, leader of the Opposition at the time the communication was submitted, and to the resolution adopted at its 189th session (October 2011),

Recalling that, according to the Home Ministry’s report of March 2010, the investigation into the grenade attack of August 2004 against Sheikh Hasina and other Awami League members, which left scores of people dead and wounded, revealed the following: the attack was decided on at a meeting in the government quarters of then Deputy Minister Abdus Salam Pinto, whose brother, Mr. Moulana Mohammad Tajuddin, supplied the grenades; former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar and Mr. Salam Pinto provided administrative and financial support, and the government of the time arranged for Mr. Tajuddin to leave Bangladesh; the attack was carried out with the help of Islamist militants belonging to the Horkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji), several of whom, including its leader, Mufti Hannan Munshi, were arrested in connection with the case,

Recalling that, according to the information provided by members of the Bangladeshi delegation to the 125th IPU Assembly (October 2011), after the deadline for submitting the final investigation report had been extended many times, on 2 July 2011 the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted a supplementary charge sheet against 30 more persons, including Mr. Babar, Mr. Ali Ahsan Mohammed Mujahid, Secretary General of Jamaat E Islami Bangladesh, Mr. Tarek Rahman, Senior Vice-President of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and Mr. Harris Chowdhury, Political Adviser to Begum Zia, who were charged under sections 120(b), 324, 326, 307, 302, 201, 118, 119, 212, 217, 218, 330, 109 and 34 of the Penal Code and sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Explosive Substances Act; that the case is now being tried by the Court of Metropolitan Session Judge Speedy Trial Court; according to the source, Begum Zia’s nephew, Mr. Saiful Islam Duke, two former directors general of National Security Intelligence and two former heads of police are mentioned in the charge sheet as well,

Considering that the court formally indicted the 30 individuals mentioned in the supplementary charge sheet on 18 March 2012; recalling that, when the supplementary charge sheet was brought on 2 July 2011, several of those mentioned in it were at large, including Mr. Rahman and Mr. Chowdhury, who are said to be in the United Kingdom,

Considering that, according to the information provided by members of the Bangladeshi delegation to the 126th IPU Assembly (April 2012), the Parliament’s Standing Committee on the Ministry of Home Affairs continues to monitor the case,

1. Is pleased that the case is making steady progress; is concerned, however, that there is no indication that those at large have been apprehended or that international warrants have been issued for the two suspects who are reportedly abroad; would appreciate receiving information on this point, in particular from Parliament, and being kept informed of further developments in the proceedings in the case before the Speedy Trial Tribunal;

2. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the competent authorities and to the source;

3. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and to report to it at its next session, to be held during the 127th IPU Assembly (October 2012).

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 126th IPU Assembly and related meetings" in PDF format (file size 910 Kb approximately). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.

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