Bail hard to come by for BNP ranks
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over political violence are being denied bail by the CMM court, but some are getting bail from the higher courts.
The officer spoke on condition of anonymity citing legal reasons.
The top opposition leaders who have been denied bail include BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, standing committee members Mirza Abbas and Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, vice-chairmen Shamsuzzaman Dudu and barrister Shahjahan Omar, joint secretary generals Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal and Mujibur Rahman Sarwar, organising secretary Syed Emran Saleh Prince, and BNP’s media cell Convener Zahir Uddin Swapan.
They were arrested over violence centring on BNP’s Nayapaltan grand rally, which was foiled by heavy police action.
“I submitted bail petitions for 31 accused in seven cases. Not a single of them got bail from the CMM court, including the seven arrested as suspects,” said Khan Md Zahirul Islam, a defence lawyer.
Another defence lawyer Gazi Muhammad Shukkur Ali said he also filed bail petitions with the CMM court for his two clients, who were arrested on suspicion from Bangshal just two days before the rally. But they were denied bail.
“Later, I filed petitions with the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court, but the date for hearing on the petitions is yet to be fixed,” he added.
Several other defence lawyers gave a similar version.
“Some of the accused who do not hold any post in BNP or are arrested as suspects are getting bail from the sessions judge’s court. But none of my clients has been granted bail by the CMM court lately,” said Syed Zaynul Abedin Mesbah, another defence lawyer.
Criminal law expert Khurshid Alam Khan said bails are considered based on the gravity of the offence.
“If the magistrate fails to exercise his discretion in any case, the aggrieved persons can seek bail from a higher court,” he said.
Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Md Abdullah Abu said, “It is completely the discretionary jurisdiction of the court to grant or reject bail. I only perform my duties as a state lawyer.”
THE ARRESTS
Of the 3,067 arrestees, police produced 1,620 defendants before the CMM court in the 11 days preceding BNP’s October 28 rally. The rest 1,447 were produced in the 11 days after the rally.
Charges in most of the cases include blocking the road through unlawful assembly, deterring police from carrying out their duties, damage to properties, vandalism, creating panic among the public and blasting explosives.
Of the accused, 300 were arrested in 14 cases with Paltan Police Station, 198 in 18 cases with Jatrabari Police Station, 167 in eight cases with Pallabi Police Station, 154 in four cases with Mirpur Police Station, 130 in 10 cases with Wari Police Station, 123 in 11 cases with Demra Police Station, 108 in 15 cases with Ramna Police Station and 103 in five cases with Kafrul Police Station.
Some 70 to 92 people were arrested in the cases filed with Khilgaon, Shyampur, Kadamtoli, Banani, Badda, Darus Salam, Shah Ali, Shahjahanpur and Hatirjheel police stations each. The number of arrests by Mugda, Uttara East, Bangshal, Chawkbazar, Kamrangirchar, Bhatara, Motijheel and Gendaria police is between 41 and 69 each.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi slammed the government for the wholesale arrest and imprisonment of his party leaders and activists ahead of the election.
“We have said this before. Through the latest arrests, it is now clear that the government is using the legal system to scare our leaders and activists. It has exposed how the government is abusing the laws,” he told The Daily Star.