The son of a former Bangladesh prime minister went on trial in absentia on Wednesday over charges he was involved in a 2004 attack that killed at least 20 people and injured the current prime minister. Tareque Rahman, 46, the influential eldest son of Khaleda Zia, refused a court summons to return to Bangladesh from his home in London to attend the trial in Dhaka. Rahman is accused of criminal conspiracy in a plot to kill his mother’s rival, Sheikh Hasina, and her party officials, state prosecutors said, adding that judges had adjourned the case until April 9. Hasina was addressing a rally in Dhaka on August 21, 2004, when several grenades exploded, leaving at least 20 Awami League officials and supporters dead.
