Politicians rush to seek case withdrawal

Politicians rush to seek case withdrawal

New Age: Several thousand applications, including 2,432 in Dhaka, have been filed seeking withdrawal of cases across the country as the deadline for filing such applications expires today.

The government in a home ministry notification issued on March 4 announced it would withdraw the cases filed with political motive of persecution and urged the people concerned to file appeals by April 15 seeking withdrawal of such cases. The deadline was, however, earlier extended twice.

According to sources in the home ministry, several thousand applications have already been filed across the country seeking withdrawal of cases, including 2,432 in Dhaka, mostly by political leaders and activists.

The charges brought in the cases, which have been sought to be withdrawn, include corruption, extortion, land grab, cheating and murder, the sources said.

In Dhaka, the 2,432 cases, sought to be withdrawn, include the cases against high-profile politicians including the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, also the ruling Awami League president, the leader of the opposition in parliament, Khaleda Zia, also the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, and senior leaders of both the parties, the sources said.

Of the 2,432 applications, the home ministry has so far referred about 1,800 to the metropolitan public prosecutor for primary scrutiny.

The metropolitan public prosecutor, Abdullah Abu, has already recommended withdrawal of 12 cases against Hasina and a number of cases against Awami League leaders including Tofail Ahmed, Sajeda Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim and Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana, saying that the cases were filed with mala fide intention of political persecution.

Former law minister Moudud Ahmed, also a BNP standing committee member, told New Age on Saturday the government was withdrawing the cases filed only against the ruling party leaders.

A case against the prime minister has already been withdrawn and many cases against ruling party leaders have been recommended to be withdrawn while the applications filed by the opposition leaders are not being considered, he alleged.

Abdullah Abu, however, brushed aside the allegation and said his office was examining the applications based on the filing serial of the applications.

Mozammel Hossain, the judge in-charge of the special judge’s court 5, on May 17 acquitted Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana and their cousin Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim of the charges in the Tk 2.99 crore extortion case, filed by businessman Azam J Chowdhury in September 2007.

The court passed the order after hearing a petition filed by the metropolitan public prosecutor seeking withdrawal of the three from prosecution in the case under Section 494 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

This was the first case against Hasina, which was withdrawn by the government. The metropolitan public prosecutor has also recommended withdrawal of 11 other cases against Hasina.

The cases include the ones filed by the BNP-led government during its 2001–2006 tenure for alleged corruption in the purchase of MiG-29 warplanes and frigate, in the construction of Bangabandhu Planetarium and for ‘illegal entry’ into the Dhaka cantonment area to visit the ailing writer Humayun Azad, who later died in Germany, in Combined Military Hospital.

Khaleda Zia and her two sons, Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman filed applications on April 30 seeking withdrawal of all the 20 cases lodged against them during the military-controlled interim government.

In the applications, the three said the cases filed against them were politically motivated and aimed at harassment and that the High Court had earlier stayed the proceedings of all the cases.

Four corruptions cases against Khaleda, 11 against her eldest son Tarique and five others against the youngest son Arafat were filed during the two-year rule of the interim government, which detained about 200 politicians, including Hasina and Khaleda.

The government on February 17 formed a committee to review the ‘politically motivated’ cases, especially the ones against politicians, during the BNP-led alliance government and the military-controlled interim administration’s rule.

The committee headed by the state minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, Quamrul Islam, was asked to review the appeals seeking withdrawal of the cases.

The persons who have filed petitions in Dhaka for withdrawal of cases include former law minister Moudud Ahmed, Khaleda’s younger brother Shamim Iskander, and Arafat’s brothers-in-law Mostakim Reza and Mostakin Reza.

The Supreme Court Bar Association secretary, SM Rezaul Karim, meanwhile, filed two petitions with the ministries of law and home affairs seeking withdrawal of two cases lodged against renowned lawyers including, Kamal Hossain, Rokanuddin Mahmud, M Amirul Islam, Tania Amir, Khasruzzaman, Subrata Saha, Sheikh Awsafur Rahman and Subrata Chowdhury, for the vandalism that took place on the Supreme Court premises on November 30, 2006.

The BNP-led government earlier set up a similar committee to review the politically-motivated cases and it withdrew 5,888 cases filed during the 1996–01 Awami League government against about 17,000 people, mostly political leaders and activists.

source priyo.com