A legal case was initiated against 15 leaders and activists belonging to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its associated organizations in Manikganj on November 29, 2022. The charges brought against them included sabotage and the creation of public alarm.
In connection with this case, Masud Parvez, the joint convener of the district Jatiyabadi Jubo Dal, and Jasim Uddin, also known as Akash, an activist of the Jatiyabadi Chhatra Dal, were apprehended on the night the case was filed. The BNP leaders and activists named in the case were accused of perpetrating acts of sabotage through the detonation of crude bombs.
Describing the case as a ‘ghost’ and ‘harassing’ legal action, Afroza Khan Rita, the President of Manikganj District BNP, stated that these cases were filed in absentia against BNP leaders and activists with the intention of obstructing a BNP rally scheduled in Dhaka on December 10, 2022. Subsequently, many leaders and activists were arrested in relation to these cases.
SA Jinnah Kabir, the former General Secretary of Manikganj District BNP and currently a member of the District BNP Convening Committee, recounted that 33 fabricated and harassing cases were also filed under his name during the previous Awami League administration.
He informed BSS that during the Awami League government’s term, numerous leaders and activists from opposition political parties, including the BNP and Jamaat, were compelled to leave their homes due to these harassing legal cases. Consequently, thousands of cases were filed against opposition political leaders and activists (BNP-Jamaat) not only in Manikganj but also in various locations throughout the country.
The current interim government has taken initiatives to withdraw all harassment cases filed during the previous Awami League government from January 29, 2009 to August 5, 2024.
An official of the Law-1 branch of the Home Ministry told BSS that a decision has been taken to withdraw 10,506 politically harassment cases across the country so far.
In this regard, the Home Ministry has written to the respective District Magistrates, mentioning the case numbers, and requested the District Public Prosecutor to provide necessary advice.
The Home Ministry official said that the District Magistrate was informed of the government’s decision not to proceed with those cases under Section 494 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898.
Home Ministry sources said that the Public Security Department of the ministry formed two committees — district-level and ministry level — to withdraw the harassment cases filed for political reasons at different times.
The District Magistrate has been made the chairman and Additional District Magistrate as the member secretary and the Superintendent of Police (a Deputy Commissioner of Police for metropolitan areas) and Public Prosecutor (Metropolitan Public Prosecutor for metropolitan area cases) as members of the district level committee.
If the district committee feels that the case has been filed for political or other purposes of harassment, the committee will recommend to the government to withdraw the case.
The District Magistrate has been asked to send that recommendation, along with the case statement, charge sheet and information as per the specified schedule to the Home Ministry within 45 working days of receiving the application. Apart from this, applications can also be made at the individual level.
Applications are also being taken from the Senior Secretary of the Home Ministry or the Solicitor of the Law Ministry.
However, after scrutinizing those applications, the Home Ministry first prepares a list of the cases to be withdrawn in the form of a resolution in a committee meeting chaired by the Law Adviser and sends it back to the Home Ministry.
Later, it is sent again from the Home Ministry to the Law Ministry for vetting. After returning from there, a final letter is sent from the Home Ministry to the respective District Magistrate.
The government has already issued a notification regarding the scope and working methods of the district-level committee.
The notification stated that after receiving recommendations from the district committee, the ministry-level committee will examine them. It will identify the cases to be withdrawn and prepare a list of the cases and take measures to withdraw the cases.
However, among the cases under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, political harassment cases cannot be withdrawn without a written order of the Commission as per the provisions of Section 10(4) of The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1954, so such cases will have to be identified and a list will be prepared. The action to be taken regarding such cases will be decided later.
The chairman of the ministerial-level committee is Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul and the member secretary is the Senior Assistant Secretary of the Law-1 Branch of the Public Security Division.
The members are the Senior Secretary of the Public Security Division, Additional Secretary (Law and Order) and Joint Secretary (Law) and a representative of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (not below the level of Joint Secretary).
According to ministry sources, any victim of a political harassment case filed from January 6, 2009 to August 5, 2024 will get this opportunity.
However, the application form must be accompanied by a certified copy of the relevant case statement and, where applicable, the charge sheet.
In this regard, Faisal Hasan, Public Relations Officer (Director) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, told BSS that this initiative, jointly undertaken by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, will continue to be implemented to save innocent people and political leaders and activists from unnecessary harassment.
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