Kill-punch in court, non-availability of lawyers and types of cases discussed

Several ministers and MPs of the Awami League, who were ousted in Bangladesh by student protests, have been arrested in the last few days. Later they were also produced in the court. Among those arrested are an adviser to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, three former ministers, two state ministers, the deputy speaker of parliament, a deputy minister and at least two MPs.

The BBC said in a report that the police said some of them were 'arrested on the basis of secret information', but they were already detained at the airport. As a result, the place and time of their detention was discussed. There have been many cases across the country against Sheikh Hasina and her government ministers and Awami League MPs in connection with the violence and deaths surrounding the quota reform movement. Those who have been arrested so far have been arrested in various cases and brought to court by the police.

After the fall of the government, the intense anger of the people towards the Awami League, some tried to express it on the leaders of the party in the court premises. Former Minister Dipu Moni and Deputy Minister Arif Khan Joy were killed and punched in police custody on Tuesday. Dipu Moni was remanded for four days.

On the same day, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), an organization working on legal rights, issued a press release expressing deep concern over the recent arrest and remand of women in various cases. In this regard, they also demanded the implementation of the Supreme Court's directives.

On the other hand, in the criminal cases in which the former ministers-MPs are being arrested and remanded, it may be difficult to prosecute them and bring them under punishment, lawyers told BBC Bangla. Because, there is no specific allegation against these accused. At the same time, in these murder cases, the accused has been shown anonymously. The fact that no lawyer was present in court on their behalf also sparked discussion.

Some are commenting that the previous Awami League regime also witnessed a similar trend of inconsistencies in court premises attacks and cases. They think that if it is not controlled now, there will be an opportunity to question these judgments.

Meanwhile, Awami League joint general secretary and social welfare minister of the ousted government, Dipu Moni, was produced in court in a Mohammadpur police station murder case. Former Sports Deputy Minister Arif Khan Joy has also been produced as an accused in the same case and the police wants their remand. The court granted remand of four days to Dipu Moni and five days to Joy. They faced the anger of the people present in the court premises including the lawyers.

In the pictures and videos published in the media, it can be seen that the angry people are punching them inside the police fence. Dipu Moni's saree was also pulled.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Facebook post

Referring to this incident as 'mob justice', Jyotirmoy Barua told BBC Bangla that ensuring justice and mob justice are not the same. Two things must be distinguished. He said, why mob justice in court? If they could not provide security, they were brought to court with other arrangements.

Former Inspector General of Police Mohammad Nurul Huda says, “Whether it is right to take the accused to the open court or not, there is also the security aspect to think about. Accidents can also happen here.” He also commented that there should be adequate security arrangements in these cases.

Jyotirmoy Barua says 'professional' action should be taken against lawyers involved in physical assault. Attorney General Asaduzzaman also thinks that the security forces should look into the matter. “Just because there may be anger, the expression of anger should not go to such an extent that it obstructs justice,” he said.

On the other hand, in the case of Salman F Rahman and Anisul Haque, no lawyer stood for them in the court. Several lawyers requested anonymity and said that no one was in a position to stand on their behalf in the court that day in the angry situation. Neither the state nor pro-Awami League lawyers were present in the court. A lawyer tried to speak on Dipu Moni's behalf, but he could not proceed in the face of other lawyers, BBC Bangla reported.

According to Jyotirmoy Barua, getting legal assistance is a constitutional right. It is unethical to prevent it. No one can take someone's case personally. But there is no opportunity to collectively decide not to provide legal aid.

Attorney General Md. Asaduzzaman told BBC Bangla, 'If someone obstructs the appointment of a lawyer, it is illegal. I will stop it.'

If there is no private lawyer available for the accused, then there is a provision of legal aid from the government. In that case, a lawyer for the state will fight for the accused in the murder case.

Asaduzzaman said, 'The stage of appointing lawyers has not yet come. When the trial starts after giving the charge sheet, if the government sees that there is a death sentence in a case, then the state defense (lawyer for the state) will be given.

On August 5, the Prime Minister's office was occupied by the common people

At the same time, it is known from the statement of the cases in which the arrest of the Awami League leaders is shown, that they are not specifically named in these cases. Rather, the unknown accused is mentioned. Later, the cases that were filed in court included the names of Sheikh Hasina's government ministers, MPs and former police officers.

Former IGP Mohammad Nurul Huda said that if there is any inconsistency in the case, it will give opportunity to the accused. He said it would weaken the plaintiff's case, making it difficult to prove the case.

Supreme Court lawyer Shishir Monir said that if the investigating officers can make specific allegations during the investigation, it will be possible to handle these cases properly. Otherwise, doubts may remain about the veracity of the allegations.

Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua says that he is interested in waiting without reaching any decision now. He commented that such incidents were seen to happen during the previous government.

He also said, 'If the situation is not controlled before the investigation stage, there will be an opportunity to raise questions about the trial later.'

After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in the face of mass agitation, most of the party's leaders went into hiding. The day after Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled, there were reports of some people being detained and handed over to the army while leaving the country through the airport. However, the first reports of arrests by civilian law enforcement agencies came on August 14.

According to the police, former law minister Anisul Haque and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's private industry and investment adviser Salman F Rahman have been arrested from Sadarghat area of ​​Dhaka. The following night, Deputy Speaker of the 12th Parliament Shamsul Haque Tuku, former Minister of State for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Junaid Ahmed Palak and general secretary of the Dhaka University branch of Chhatra League Tanveer Hasan Saikat were informed about the arrest from Nikunj area of ​​the capital.

Former Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen was arrested from Thakurgaon on Friday. Awami League joint general secretary and former social welfare minister Dipu Moni was arrested from Baridhara area on Monday night. Arif Khan Joy, the former sports deputy minister of the Awami League government, was arrested on the same night. On Tuesday night, former Minister of State for Liberation War Captain (retd) AB Tajul Islam was arrested by a team of Intelligence Division (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police from Banshri in the capital. Awami League's organizational secretary and member of parliament Ahmed Hossain was arrested from the same area.

On the same day, the news of the arrest of Abdur Rahman Badi, the former Member of Parliament of Ukhia Teknaf Constituency in Cox's Bazar, came from Chittagong's Panchlaish Thana area.

Source: BBC.

Bangladesh /MP