Hannan forced to 'confess'

Claiming that investigators forcefully obtained signatures on the confessional statements of Huji leader Mufti Abdul Hannan, his counsel yesterday pleaded with a Dhaka court for discharging the accused from the August 21 grenade attack cases.
Seven other accused including former Dhaka City Corporation councillor Ariful Islam Arif yesterday filed discharge petitions with the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1.
With this, 30 accused have appealed to the tribunal seeking discharge from the cases -- one under the explosive substances act and the other for murder.
During the hearing on Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (Huji) leader Hannan's discharge prayer, his lawyer Lutfor Rahman Sheikh told the court that his client was tortured on November 1, 2007, to sign a “so-called” confessional statement in the cases.
Based on this statement, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had pressed charges against Hannan and 21 others in June 2008. None of the 61 prosecution witnesses, who testified in the court, mentioned his client's name, the attorney argued.
During further investigation, CID took Hannan to its Malibagh office from Sylhet jail on April 4 last year without remand. The investigators tortured him heavily to make him confess to the crime implicating several others.
On refusal, Hannan was again brought to Dhaka Central Jail on April 7 and was taken to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka that evening, maintained the lawyer.
At the magistrate's chamber he was forced to sign a written confessional statement, but Hannan still denied to give in.
Later CID forged his signature on an additional confessional statement and accordingly pressed charges against BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman and 29 others on July 3 last year, said Lutfor Rahman.
According to the prosecution, Hannan and 11 others had earlier confessed to the crimes, narrating how and why they had planned assassinations of the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina and her party leaders and activists.
The court so far has heard 23 discharge petitions in the cases. It has fixed January 23 for hearing the next prayer.
Twenty-four people were killed and around 200 injured in the grisly grenade attack on an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004.
The investigators have accused 52 persons in the two cases. Of them, 32 are now in jail, one on bail and the rest have been absconding.