Law
week
Demand for women's equal rights logical, says CJ
Chief Justice M Ruhul Amin yesterday said the demand for equal rights for women in every aspect of life is logical. “Women are about a half of the total population. Hence, their demand for equal rights is logical. Referring to a part of the country's constitution that guarantees equal rights for women, the chief justice said without establishing women's rights Bangladesh will never become a well educated democratic state.
He urged the country's judges to play their roles in courts on various gender issues with compassion towards the women. Justice Fazlul Karim also laid emphasis on the sympathy of judges when dealing with cases filed by women seeking justice. -UNB, April 12, 2008.
CID arrests 'grenade thrower' in August 21 carnage
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday arrested a person suspected of throwing grenades in the August 21 blasts at an Awami League (AL) rally in 2004.
CID sources said the arrestee, Arif Hasan Sumon, had also carried bombs used in the Ramna blasts on April 14, 2001. He was nabbed in a swoop at his house at Ali and Noor Real Estate Housing in the capital's Mohammadpur area yesterday evening, they added.
The law enforcers launched a massive hunt for Sumon after his name had come in the confessional statements of detained Harkatul Jihad Al Islami (HuJi) boss Mufti Abdul Hannan, Moulana Abu Zafar alias Abu Sayeed and HuJi Dhaka city unit general secretary Moulana Abu Taher. Seeking not to be named, a CID official close to the blast investigations told The Daily Star last night that Sumon is a nephew of Taher. -The Daily Star, April 13, 2008.
11,000 sued for violence in Dhaka, Ctg
Two separate cases were filed yesterday against around 11,000 unidentified Islamist activists for Friday's violence and vandalism in the Baitul Mukarram area in the capital and Hathazari Police Station in Chittagong. Out of the accused, only 17 Islamists were identified and arrested for their involvement in the violence in Dhaka. As they were produced before a Dhaka court yesterday, the court ordered to send them to Dhaka Central Jail custody. However, no one has yet been arrested in connection with the Chittagong case. Meanwhile, one of the agitating Islamist organisations, Islami Shashontantra Andolon (ISA), yesterday issued a five-day ultimatum to the government, asking it to scrap the Women Development Policy 2008 and remove Women and Children Affairs Adviser Rasheda K Chowdhury within “a day or two”. -The Daily Star, April 13, 2008.
BDR, BSF deal to combat cross-border crimes
India and Bangladesh yesterday signed an agreement to make joint efforts to tackle cross-border crimes like arms smuggling and trafficking of women and children by sharing timely and actionable information. “The agreement will help to end any suspicion and distrust prevailing on ground level,” Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Director General Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed told reporters after signing the agreement with the DG of the Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) A K Mitra. The BDR and BSF wrapped up their biennial five-day conference in New Delhi agreeing to jointly deal with trafficking of women and children, smuggling of arms and counterfeit currency through sharing information by sector commanders. Mitra said the agreement would help both BSF and BDR to expedite decisions. -The Daily Star, April 13, 2008.
Women policy not anti-Islam
Law and Religious Affairs Adviser AF Hassan Ariff reiterated yesterday that the recently announced national women development policy does not contain anything that goes against the rules and spirit of Islam. Any vagueness in the policy, if found, will be cleared to prevent any misunderstanding, he told reporters at the Secretariat. The adviser's statement came in the wake of violent demonstrations by Islamist activists in Dhaka and Chittagong demanding scrapping of the policy. “I don't see anything in the women development policy which is contradictory (to Islam). Still, it is now being looked into whether there is any such thing in it,” Hassan Ariff, also a legal expert, said. Asked whether there is any vagueness, he said, “I don't see any. They [review committee members] can say if there is any.”
-The Daily Star, April 14, 2008.
299 foreign prisoners languish in jails
At least 299 prisoners of foreign nationality are stuck in different jails of the country due to diplomatic and bureaucratic tangles, even though their jail terms expired. Inspector General of Prisons (IG-Prisons) Brig Gen Zakir Hassan told The Daily Star, “We have been trying to repatriate them. The home ministry and the foreign ministry have also been contacting embassies and high commissions concerned.” Among the prisoners of foreign nationality 162 Indian citizens, 128 Myanmarese, two Tanzanian, two Nepali, one Pakistani, one Filipino, one Saudi Arabian, one Kenyan and a Hungarian are in jail even though their jail terms have expired. Of them, eight Indian and two Myanmarese prisoners are women. -The Daily Star, April 14, 2008.
ACC sues ex-adviser Justice Fazlul Haque
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday filed a case against former adviser to caretaker government Justice Fazlul Haque on charges of amassing assets illegally and concealing wealth information. First against any former or incumbent caretaker government's adviser, the graft case was filed with Ramna Police Station.
According to the first information report (FIR), Justice Haque in his wealth statement to the ACC held back information about moveable and immovable property worth around Tk 97.37 lakh. Those assets do not match up with his known sources of income. -The Daily Star, April 14, 2008.
Jamaat ex-MP Shahjahan, Faisal Morshed Khan get jail terms
Former Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury was yesterday handed down 10 years' imprisonment for corruption while Faisal Morshed Khan, former foreign minister M Morshed Khan's son, seven years for aiding and abetting Shahjahan. The Special Court-2 of Judge Amar Kumar Roy delivered the verdict in the illegal wealth accumulation and concealment case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on July 1 last year. Alleged militant patron Shahjahan Chowdhury's name was on the first list of 50 high-profile graft suspects made public by the ACC on February 18.
The court sentenced the former Satkania lawmaker and a member of Jamaat's Majlis-e-Shoora (the highest policy making body of the party) to seven years' imprisonment for amassing wealth beyond his known sources of income and three years for concealing information in his wealth statement that he had submitted to the ACC.
However, Shahjahan would have to serve seven years in jail altogether as the court ordered the sentences to be effective concurrently. - The Daily Star, April 14, 2008.
Corresponding with the Law Desk
Please send your mails, queries, and opinions to: Law Desk, The Daily Star 19 Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215; telephone 8124944,8124955,fax 8125155; email: [email protected],[email protected]
