Staff Reporter :
A Dhaka court on Wednesday (3 September) recorded the virtual appearance of 22 accused, including 14 former ministers and lawmakers of the Awami League and its 14-party alliance, in connection with multiple cases filed over the July Uprising.
Metropolitan Magistrate Arifur Rahman conducted the proceedings through the Zoom platform, with the accused joining from prison.
The accused include former Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, former Law Minister Anisul Huq, former Education Minister Dipu Moni, former Social Welfare Minister Md Nuruzzaman Ahmed, former Food Minister Qamrul Islam, former State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder, former State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, former PM’s adviser and ex-MP Salman F Rahman, former MPs Shamsul Haque Tuku, Ahmad Hossain, Solaiman Selim, Abu Reza Mohammad Nezamuddin Nadvi, Momtaz Begum and Engineer Masuda Siddika Rosi.
Others include former Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik, former Home Secretary Jahangir Alam, ex-army officer Ziaul Ahsan, Rear Admiral Md Sohail, former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, Md Shahidul Haque, former Assistant Commissioner of Police Tanzil Ahmed, and former OC Abul Hasan.
State counsel Muhammad Shamsuddoha Suman said the hearing date had been fixed for cases filed with several police stations, including Jatrabari, Kafrul, Bhashantek, Lalbagh, Badda, New Market, Shahbagh, and Khilgaon.
Explaining the reason for the virtual process, he noted: “Bringing these accused physically to court often poses serious security risks.
Public anger against many of them is very intense, and attempts are sometimes made to express that anger in court premises. In such situations, law enforcement struggles to maintain order.”
He added that to avoid such risks and ensure smooth proceedings, the court decided to take their appearances online while keeping them in custody.
