Acquitted Shahadat: ‘The truth has won’

Bangladesh

Bangladesh fast bowler Shahadat Hossain and his wife have been acquitted of charges of torture, with the court finding the prosecution failed to prove they abused their domestic worker.

The girl, who was 11 at the time, was found bedraggled in the streets of Dhaka last September, and accused the couple of torturing her.

They went on the run for weeks, with police searching high and low, but they turned themselves in to police in October, and were granted bail in December.

Since then, the victim has recanted her statement, saying this year that she had not been tortured, and the tribunal thus found that the charges had not been proven.

Ali Asgar, the prosecutor from the women and children repression prevention tribunal, said: “The couple has been released as the prosecution failed to prove them guilty.”

As for his cricketing future, the paceman said he hoped to return to internationals now that the legalities have come to an end, after the BCB said he would not be picked for the Tigers until the case was over.

Shahadat said after the verdict: “The truth has won. I still have something to give to my country.”

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