Col Farooq’s death sentence is a second punishment for a single offence as his counsel pointed out that he was earlier punished by a Martial Law Court for the same offence, reports UNB.

"Army Act bars bringing any of the army personnel for trial for a second time, specially in a civil court, if that person has already been tried in a Martial Law Court for any of his offences." the lawyer told a High Court bench yesterday.

Defence Counsel Khan Sal-fur Rahman put up the plea submitting his arguments for the sixth day yesterday at the appeal hearing of the Banga-bandhu Murder Case.

He claimed that Col (Dismissed) Syed Farooq Rahman was punished by a Martial Law Court, and may be for his presence in the place of occurrence (Bangabandhu's resi-

deuce), in whatever form it may be.

The counsel said the service book of Farooq was not produced before the court: otherwise. it would have been clear whv the army officer was dismissed from his services.

As per the Army Act, dismissal from Job by a Martial Law Court is a punishment, and Farooq cannot be tried twice for the same offence, Khan Saifur argued.

He said that his client gave the confessional statement following physical torture.

"The so-called confessional statement was obtained while he (Farooq) was in confinement under CID custody by the order of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The confessional statement was not given voluntarily." he told the court and said such statement is not cognizable.

He said Farooq was re-manded for 32 days In three

cases and that his first remand was not following court orders, rather at the Home Ministry's directive.

So. the confessional statement he gave while under CID custody should not be accepted, the tiefence counsel said, adding that It was an illegal confinement."

Farooq lied in his confessional statement to save himself from torture. Khan Saifur maintained.

He birther said the magistrate who recorded the statement did not sign all the eight pages of the statement, so it can be presumed that the statement could have been even designed later by the authorities in their own way.

The court of Justice Mohammad Ruhul Amin nnd Justice ABM Khalrul Haque is likely to resume today at 2 pm, as opposition has called a halfday liartal on the day.