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Attacks on Buddhists

None of 19 cases goes to trial in two years

Star Report
Two years on, none of the 19 cases filed for the attacks on Buddhists in Cox's Bazar has gone to trial, frustrating the victims of the hate crimes.
Law enforcers say lengthy legal procedures have caused the delay.
But leaders of the community and human rights activists question whether the government and the law enforcement agencies are at all willing to bring the culprits to book.
They fear attacks on Buddhists may recur if those responsible for the mayhem are allowed to get off scot-free.
Locals allege that many perpetrators have been left out of the charge sheets while many innocent people made accused.
Fanatics attacked Buddhist homes and temples in Ramu, Ukhia, Teknaf and the sadar upazila of Cox's Bazar on September 29 and 30 in 2012 following a fake Facebook post demeaning the Quran.
An investigation by The Daily Star exposed the forged Facebook profile that was used to instigate the hate crimes as well as the inaction of the local administration, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Following the attacks, the police filed 13 cases, while the victims lodged six other cases accusing over 15,000 people.
Law enforcers submitted charge sheets in the cases between September last year and this January accusing 948 people of the violence raged through the region that was known for its communal harmony for centuries until the night of September29 2012.
Some 78 people were shown as fugitives in the charge sheets while most other accused were released on bail. The police could not say how many were now detained in jail.
Though charge sheets in 17 cases
were accepted by the courts, their trials are yet to begin since charges were not framed in any of the cases. Charge sheets in two other cases were sent back for further investigation.
Cox’s Bazar Court's Inspector Mezbah Uddin Ahmed yesterday said some legal proceedings had to be completed before the trial.
Besides, there are additional procedures to be followed for holding the trial of the accused in absentia, he added.
According to the existing legal system, a court upon taking a charge sheet into cognisance holds the hearing on the charges before the charge framing.
In case of the trial of those in absentia, a court after accepting the charge sheet issues arrest warrants on the accused. Once the police report to the court that they are absconding, the court directs the authorities concerned to publish advertisements asking them to appear before the judges within a specific timeframe.
If the accused do not comply with
the order, the court decides to hold the trial in their absence.
However, regarding the cases linked with the 2012 violence, the police are blamed for not taking proper action.
Tarun Barua, general secretary of the Central Sima Bihar Managing Committee, said, “The police kept us in the dark.
"Many real culprits are roaming freely while innocent people have been made accused," he said, adding that he himself had given a list of 15 people involved in the attacks during the cases' investigation to the then Cox's Bazar superintendent of police Mohammad Amzad Mia but none of them were named in the charge sheets.
Azad, now special superintendent of police (student and labour), Special Branch, Dhaka, said the names had not been included in the charge sheet because no evidence supporting the accusations had been given to the police.
"What the police are doing regarding the cases is nothing but a game,"
said Swapan Barua, president of the Ramu unit of Bangladesh Bouddha Samity.
The entire Buddhist community is frustrated at the delay in the trial of the cases, he said.
State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan said last night, “Our duty ended with the submission of the charge sheets. The rest is the task of the law ministry."
About the allegations that many real culprits were spared in the charge sheets, he said he was unaware of the matter.
Even after several attempts, the law minister and the law secretary could not be reached by phone for comments.
The delay is an ominous sign, said eminent columnist Syed Abul Maksud who had visited the affected area.
The government is dillydallying over holding the trial, as activists of both the ruling party and the then opposition parties were reportedly involved in the attacks, he added.