Bangladeshi court sentences 9 activists to death for 1994 attacks on PM Hasina

A Bangladeshi court on Wednesday sentenced nine activists of a BNP-led alliance to death and 25 others to life in prison for attacking Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 25 years ago when she was the Opposition leader, a government lawyer said.

Hasina was leading a nationwide campaign by rail when her coach came under attack upon arriving in Pabna's Ishwardy on September 23, 1994.

At that time, Hasina was opposition leader and her arch-rival, Khaleda Zia, was prime minister. Now Zia and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are the opposition.

Additional Sessions Judge Rostom Ali also jailed Thirteen people for 10 years for their part in the attack.

The railway police, as plaintiff, initiated a case against 135 people in connection with the incident.

But the investigation hit a snag during the BNP's rule before picking up speed once the Awami League formed government in 1996, reports said.

Police later submitted a charge sheet against 52 accused at the end of the probe.

After the verdict, local BNP activists held a protest on the court premises while ruling Awami League supporters and activists held separate procession expressing satisfaction over the judgement.

Hasina was also targeted in 2004, when attackers threw grenades at rally in Dhaka, killing 24 people and wounding more than 500.

In 2018, a court sentenced 19 people to death and 19 to life imprisonment for that attack. Those defendants have appealed to a higher court.