Attack on Bernicat's convoy: Trial in the case begins

The court has framed charges against nine people in connection with carrying out an attack on the convoy of former US ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat.

Dhaka's chief metropolitan magistrate court's magistrate Mohammad Nurul Huda Chowdhury on Sunday passed the order.

The court fixed 6 December for recording deposition in the case. The court's assistant Sheikh Tanvir Reza confirmed this to Prothom Alo.

During the charge framing, the accused claimed to be innocent and sought justice.

The accused are: Ishtiaq Mahmud, Naimul Hasan, Feroz Mahmud, Mir Amjad Hossain, Saju Islam, Rajibul Islam, Shahidul Alam Khan, Siam and Oli Ahmed. Of them, Ishtiaq Mahmud, brother-in-law of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (SHUJAN) secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar, is the plaintiff in the case.

Besides, Naimul Hasan alias Russel is the president of Mohammadpur thana unit Chhatra League. The remaining of the accused are activists of Awami League and Chhatra League.

The attack took place on 4 August 2018, when Marcia Bernicat was leaving in her car after attending a dinner at the residence of Badiul Alam Majumdar in the capital’s Mohammadpur area.

In March 2021, the court framed charges against nine people in the case.
Later, the state requested further investigation, saying that five people, including the plaintiff, testified in the court. Of them, three accused mentioned the name of Ishtiaq Mahmud as the accused. But the investigation officer excluded him from the list.

In response, the court ordered further investigation into the case on 28 December last year. The DB police dug into the incident and submitted a supplementary charge sheet to the court on 19 September.

Marcia Bernicat served as the US ambassador in Dhaka from 2015 to 2018. The US sought an effective and impartial investigation into the attack on her and repeatedly sought updates from the authorities in Bangladesh.

The US also issued a diplomatic note to the foreign ministry, saying that members of the ambassador's security team identified two of the attackers.