BJAF tells press confce: BNP men being sentenced without following due process of law
Staff Reporter :
Leaders of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum (BJAF), a platform of the pro-BNP lawyers, have alleged that BNP leaders and activists are being sentenced in haste without following due process of law. The responsible leaders of BNP are being punished one after another to strengthen the power of the current regime, they also alleged.
They made the allegation in a press conference held at the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) building on Tuesday.
A total of 112 leaders and activists of the BNP and its front organizations were sentenced in Dhaka and Rangpur on Monday in cases filed over political violence.
And in last two months, total 271 leaders and activists were sentenced in 21 cases filed over same grounds.
In this context, BJAF organized the press conference to address the court decisions. Barrister Kayser Kamal, Secretary General of the BJAF, read a written statement in the press conference.
BJAF President Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali, Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal, Advocate Syed Mamun Mahbub, Advocate Gazi Kamrul Islam Sajal, Barrister AKM Ehsanur Rahman, among others, were present at the conference.
In the written statement Barrister Kayser Kamal further said, “The current unelected government has been in power for a long time and has brought the state institutions to the brink of destruction one after another. Our judicial system, especially the lower courts of the country, is the biggest victim of the government’s misappropriation.
Pro-BNP lawyers’ leaders on September 12 this year meet with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) and the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) and sought redressal regarding the trial proceedings against BNP leaders and activists as per the demand of the government.
But unfortunately we have been noticed, at the end of the current regime of this government, the responsible leaders of BNP are being selectively sentenced one by one by the magistrate courts in Dhaka. This is not only injustice or farce in the name of justice, but also gross violation of human rights of opposition party leaders and activists.”
The lawyer said, “In most cases, sentenced were given by taking depositions only from the police members. No neutral witness was produced in the trial proceedings in those cases. Even steps of the trial proceedings prescribed in the Criminal Code of Procedure (CrPC) were not followed in sentencing the BNP men and they were sentenced in haste. Sentences have also been awarded against dead and disappeared persons.”
The organizations demanded to scrap the magistracy power of the judges who gave sentences against dead and disappeared persons and without following due process of law.
