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Court boycott rolls into rampage

Rival lawyer groups to hold grand rallies in September

Staff Correspondent
A countrywide court boycott yesterday triggered vandalism, scuffles and rampages, injuring at least 12 lawyers and brought judicial activities to a stop.
Most lawyers enforced the
boycott amid resistance from a group led by lawyer ministers, touching off tension at the Supreme Court and chases and counterchases at the District and Sessions Judge's Court, Dhaka and Chittagong District Court.
The boycotting lawyers under
the banner of Six-point Implementation Council demanded independence of the judiciary, withdrawal of the rule on compulsory filing of income tax returns and trade licences, transparency in appointment of judges and recruitment of efficient judges, among
other issues.
The anti-boycott front under the banner of Ainjibi Oikya Parishad and led by Communications Minister
Barrister Nazmul Huda urged all lawyers to resist the move and
tagged the boycotting lawyers
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as aligned with the Awami League.
Both groups called upon all lawyers to attend separate grand rallies to be held in September but did not announce any date yet.
At the Supreme Court, the two groups staged demonstrations and processions and shouted slogans for and against the boycott, turning the workday into chaos.
The boycotting lawyers led by Barrister Amir-Ul Islam organised a daylong rally at the south hall of Supreme Court Bar Association. Islam told the press in the evening, "We have information from all Bar associations that the boycott was a success. We will now intensify our campaign and exchange opinions with professionals and Bar associations before staging our grand rally in September."
The Oikya Parishad lawyers -believed to be pro-government -- led by Advocate Jainal Abedin brought out a procession against the boycott in the morning and held a rally later in the day at the north hall of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
Abedin told newsmen, "Lawyers have rejected the boycott. And we will resist such attempts in the future
as well and hold a grand rally."
Although judges arrived at the Supreme Court in time, only a couple of cases were heard, as most lawyers boycotted the court.
A number of boycotting lawyers were injured in a clash with the antiboycott group at the District and Sessions Judge's Court and two of them -- MA Qamrul Hasan Khan Aslam and Sardar Bahram Uddin Tusher -- were admitted to hospital with serious wounds.
The clash was sparked when the Dhaka Bar Association lawyers were announcing the boycott by loudspeaker shortly before 10:30am and some Ainjibi Oikya Parishad lawyers snatched the loudspeaker from them. The antiboycott lawyers then broke a door of the courtroom, triggering a scuffle with the boycotting group.
Over 2,000 lawyers brought out a procession in support of the boycott on the court premises, while their opponents took out an anti-boycott precession with 30 members.
Public prosecutors (PPs) special PPs and APPs gathered at the courtroom of the District and Sessions Judge's Court and requested the judge to take his seat,
raising protest. Members of the Ainjibi Oikya Parishad attacked the boycotting lawyers and injured at least 12 in a second assault.
No work took place in the courts of district and sessions, metropolitan sessions, Dhaka district magistrate and chief metropolitan magistrate because of the lawyers' absence.
In Chittagong, agitating lawyers ransacked doors and windowpanes of the district court and burnt the effigy of Law Minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed.
District Judge Abdur Rahman Patwari arrived late at the courtroom at 11:20am and began his day's work with the help of public prosecutors.
More than 100 lawyers led by President of District Lawyers Association Ferdous Ahmed entered the courtroom, shouting slogans and requested the judge not to conduct any judicial activities. Minutes later, the judge left the courtroom.
Our Barisal correspondent reports that two groups of Barisal District Bar lawyers were at loggerheads over the programme. Court activities came to a crawl.