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| Bangladesh |
| SC rejects govt petition against bail |
| 2009-04-01 |
| The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday rejected a government petition seeking a stay on the High Court (HC) order granting anticipatory bail to Jamaat-e-Islami leader barrister Abdur Razzaq and asking the government not to harass or arrest him in connection with the Pilkhana carnage case. Chamber judge of the Appellate Division Justice Shah Abu Nayem Mominur Rahman passed the order after hearing the submission by Attorney General Mahbubey Alam. The attorney general told the court that the HC order should be stayed in the interest of a fair investigation into the carnage at the BDR headquarters. Following the chamber judge's order, the HC order granting bail to Razzaq will now remain valid till April 5. The HC on March 29 granted bail to the Jamaat leader till April 5 and asked the government not to arrest or harass him during that period. The government on March 30 filed a petition with the Supreme Court for staying the HC order. After passage of the SC order yesterday, Abdur Razzaq told The Daily Star at his SC bar chamber that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on March 30 did not ask him any questions regarding his alleged conversation with BDR mutineers on February 25. The CID only asked for my cell phone number, barrister Razzaq said, adding that during the hearing of the government petition, the Attorney General told the court that the CID had asked Razzaq questions regarding his (Razzaq's) alleged conversation with the BDR mutineers. The attorney general tried to mislead the court by giving such incorrect information, Razzaq said. Additional Attorney General M Enayetur Rahim, who was present for the state during the hearing, however said that the attorney general made submissions quoting media reports regarding the alleged conversation of Abdur Razzaq with BDR mutineers. Abdur Razzaq, talking to reporters at his Nayapaltan chamber in the afternoon yesterday, said he held no conversation with any member of BDR over cell phone before or after the February 25-26 carnage. "Unfortunately, a section of the press ran misleading and false reports on the 'so-called conversation' based on mere surmises," the Jamaat leader said. "The only purpose behind interrogating me in connection with the BDR massacre was to humiliate me politically and tarnish my image," Razzaq said. He also added that the reason behind the carnage must be dug out and the perpetrators punished severely. |
| Posted by:Fred |