Former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar has been released after 17 years of imprisonment. He was freed from Keraniganj Central Jail on Thursday afternoon. On Tuesday, he was acquitted in a case under the Arms Act related to the high-profile 10-truck arms smuggling incident in Chittagong.

Four others acquitted in the same case are Mohsin Uddin Talukder, former Managing Director of Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited (CUFL); KM Enamul Haque, former General Manager (Administration); Major General (Retd.) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, former Director of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI); and Nurul Amin, former Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Industries. Previously, on December 18, Babar and five others were acquitted from the death penalty in another case related to the same arms smuggling incident.

Babar’s defense team was led by lawyer Shishir Monir. Meanwhile, the High Court reduced the sentences of five others, including Paresh Barua, whose life sentence was commuted to 14 years. Four other convicts saw their sentences reduced to 10 years: Akbar Hossain Khan, former field officer of the National Security Intelligence (NSI); Major (Retd.) Liaqat Hossain, former Deputy Director of NSI; Wing Commander (Retd.) Shahab Uddin Ahmed, a former director; and Hafizur Rahman.

Additionally, appeals by four deceased convicts were dismissed. These included former Industries Minister and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Matiur Rahman Nizami (executed in a separate case), Brigadier General (Retd.) Md. Abdur Rahim, labor supplier Din Mohammad, and boat owner Haji Sobhan.

The 10-truck arms consignment was seized on April 1, 2004, at CUFL’s jetty in Chittagong. Two cases—under the Arms Act and the Special Powers Act—were filed at Karnaphuli Police Station. On January 30, 2014, the Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court sentenced 14 individuals, including Babar, Nizami, and Paresh Barua, to death for smuggling. They were also given life imprisonment in the Arms Act case.

Following the verdict, the case files were sent to the High Court for death reference proceedings. The convicts also filed appeals. After hearings on the Arms Act case, the High Court issued its verdict, leading to Babar’s release and sentence reductions for others.