SC starts hearing Mufti Hannan's appeal

The Supreme Court yesterday started hearing the appeals of two Huji death row convicts including its chief Mufti Abdul Hannan against the High Court verdict in a case filed for the 2004 grenade attack on the then UK envoy in Bangladesh.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha also fixed December 6 for further hearing.

During yesterday's proceedings, the apex court engaged SC lawyer ABM Bayezid as state defence lawyer to defend another death row convict Delwar Hossain alias Ripon, though he did not file any appeal, Assistant Attorney General Bashir Ahmed told The Daily Star.

Additional Attorney General Murad Reza read out from the HC judgement before the bench, he added.

The HC on February 11 upheld death penalty of three Huji members, including Mufti Hannan, and life imprisonment of two others over the 2004 grenade attack.

The two other condemned operatives of the outlawed militant outfit are Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul and Delwar Hossain alias Ripon. The HC also upheld the life imprisonment of Muhibullah alias Muhibur Rahman alias Ovi and Mufti Main Uddin alias Abu Zandal, also Huji members.

Later on, Mufti Hannan and Bipul filed appeals with the SC challenging the HC verdict on them.

In 2004, former UK high commissioner Anwar Choudhury along with around 70 others was hurt and three were killed in the attack at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) in Sylhet. The Bangladesh-born envoy, barely 18 days into his new assignment, suffered minor leg injuries in the grenade attack after Juma prayers. On December 23, 2008, the Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal sentenced Mufti Hannan, Bipul and Ripon to death, and Ovi and Abu Zandal to life imprisonment for the grenade attack and the killings.