Now the situation is like this – the judge has to think 10 times whether to grant bail or not: Sara Hossain
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Sara Hossain, a senior lawyer of the Supreme Court, has criticized the non-grant of bail day after day in the murder case centered on the July mass uprising. Referring to the July coup to get a new Bangladesh and stop injustice, he said, “Now it is such a situation that a judge or judge has to think 10 times whether he will actually grant bail to someone or not.”
Sara Hossain said this while participating in the discussion of the third phase of the day-long national convention organized by the NCP reform implementation committee of the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) at Kakrail in the capital on Sunday afternoon. The third session of the convention titled ‘National Convention on Fuel, Economy, Reforms and Referendum’ was on ‘Freedom of Expression and Human Rights: Current Risks and Actions’.
Are human rights only for those of my ideology, party, group, gender and religion or for everyone – Sara Hossain asked the audience including NCP leaders and workers present at the convention. Questioning whether we will respect the human rights of those who do not hold my ideology, he said, human rights are universal, inseparable, indivisible. Human rights include not only freedom of speech, but also the right to life, the right to be free from disappearance and torture, political, economic and social rights. Every right is supposed to apply equally to everyone. My political ideology cannot be an issue there. But what did we actually see?
Before Sara Hossain, former Disappearance Commission member Nabila Idris described the horrific experiences of the victims of disappearances during the Awami League regime. Highlighting that description, Sara Hossain said that then the arrested persons were brought before the court after many days. Finally they got bail. However, their journey of human rights violations started from there, not the end. But what situation are we seeing at the present time? Bail does not start, bail does not get. In some cases, those who have different ideologies than you, are not bailed. Do you agree with this?
Sara Hossain pointed out that “the charge sheet will be done, the investigation will be over, when the evidence will be found after the investigation is over, he cannot be released because of this” – Sara Hossain mentioned that the lawyers of the state side are saying this in the court as an argument for not granting bail in various cases related to the July coup. He said that these are being done in the name of the people of Bangladesh. Because, the advocate of the state is standing in our high court and saying these words. They say that they will conduct the investigation process or trial in this way for the trial of the killing of the martyrs of July. Does it lift our heads?
Referring to the July coup to get a new Bangladesh and prevent injustice from happening, Sara Hossain said, “Now it is a situation that a judge or judge has to think 10 times whether he will actually grant bail to someone or not.” A person against whom no evidence of any kind has been produced till date…. We want justice for the July killings to be done properly. But I see that the investigation is not ending, no evidence is coming forward. Is it not a farce with the martyrs of July? Many people are being detained because of their words, it seems that it is for political interests.
No one associated with the Awami League can be elected to the Supreme Court Bar Council. Sara Hossain, the senior lawyer of the Supreme Court, said in this context, “They regularly come to the court and practice.” None of them have been accused of involvement in any wrongdoing, let alone murder. Their biggest injustice may be that someone was a supporter or member of Awami League at that time. Now they are not standing for election as Awami League, they are standing as lawyers. They cannot stand. Isn’t their freedom of speech being suppressed?’
NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiya presided over the discussion of this episode. Moderated by NCP Member of Parliament Abdullah Al Amin, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) Tajul Islam, journalist Ashraf Qaiser, Zaima Islam, President of NCP’s youth organization Jatiya Yuba Shakti Tariqul Islam and fact checker and human rights activist Minhaj Aman spoke in this episode.
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