Azam identifies Selim as only accused

Azam J Chowdhury

Businessman Azam J Chowdhury, who sued former premier Sheikh Hasina for extorting Tk 2.99 crore, ultimately did not bring any allegation against her when the trial of the case began yesterday with his deposition.
Hasina's name appeared only twice in the deposition as Azam quoted his conversations with Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, the former premier's cousin and another accused in the case, while striking the extortion deal.
Azam told the court that Selim assured him of awarding the job of erecting the 210MW power plant at Siddhirganj with the help of "the then prime minister". Azam quoted Selim as saying that if the money is not given to the prime minister besides him, the work would be stopped.
Despite prosecution lawyers' insistence, Azam did not mention the name of the Awami League chief as an accused. He told the court that he only knows Selim, who was standing on the opposite docket with Hasina, as an accused in relation to the case.
Earlier on the day of framing charge, Hasina told the court that she does not even know Azam J Chowdhury.
On January 24, Azam told the media that he did not file the extortion case against Hasina. This gave rise to speculations about what would be Azam's deposition when the trial begins.
Guarded by police, Azam appeared in the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court after Hasina arrived in the courtroom at 10:00am.
Both Hasina and Selim stared at Azam, who during his two-hour-long deposition avoided eye contact with the two. Azam stood stiff on the docket only staring straight at Metropolitan Sessions Judge Azizul Huq and occasionally at the chief public prosecutor (CPP).
Immediately after finishing his statement, he took his seat in a chair on the prosecution side, often resting his head against his thumb and pointer, sometimes on his right fist. At times Azam was seen smiling to himself.
During Azam's deposition, both Hasina and Selim remained silent most of the time. Selim was seen browsing through some papers sitting on the docket while Hasina was seen taking notes of Azam's speech.
The trial is the first against a prime minister in the country.
AZAM'S DEPOSITION
Taking oath to always tell the truth before the court, Azam identified himself as the managing director of Eastcoast Trading Private Ltd.
He said the Power Development Board (PDB) struck a deal with a Russian state-owned company named Techno Prom Export on June 20, 1995 for providing equipment, design and technical assistance to install a 210MW thermal power plant in Siddhirganj.
The deal also includes erection and civil work of the power plant, he said. However, it did not have any obligation whether the work would be completed locally or by Techno Prom and said the government or the PDB will decide the matter.
Azam said his company is the local agent of the Russian power company.
The beginning of the implementation of the power project was delayed although the project design was submitted following the deal, Azam said, adding that for the sake of beginning the work Techno Prom proposed that it would carry out the erection and civil work on a turnkey basis.
Azam said the PDB made no move regarding the proposal and the work continued to delay.
"At this stage, Selim approached Techno Prom and tried to pressurise the company to make him its local agent instead of our company," he added.
But Selim failed in his attempt and contacted Azam and asked him to meet Selim, said Azam.
Azam along with two colleagues--Vice President of Eastcoast Trading Parvez Matin and Assistant Vice President Rashed Mahmud--met Selim at the latter's Banani residence at 7:30pm on June 10, 2000.
"After we met, Selim told us that a large amount of sum must be paid to him from the ongoing project," Azam told the court.
"He also said the rest of the work under the project--erecting the plant--will be awarded to Eastcoast with the help of the then honourable prime minister.
"He said apart from him, the money would be paid to the prime minister and in default he will stop the work," Azam said.
He said he became tensed considering the impending loss in the project and the financial damage as they had already invested in the project besides other expenditures.
Azam said he offered Selim to become the consultant of the second unit of the Siddhirganj power plant project for which they had already made a proposal to the government.
Selim demanded money also from the proposed project, Azam said.
"Considering financial damage and the fate of the machinery left abandoned due to the delay, we agreed with Selim to pay him 2 percent of the total value of the ongoing project," Azam said, adding that he paid Selim Tk 77,07,500 on October 23, 2000 through three cheques.
At this point, Azam at first mistakenly mentioned June 10, 2000 as the date of issuing the cheques and CPP ABM Sharfuddin Khan Mukul corrected him. The defence lawyers objected, saying the CPP is making Azam to say this.
"I have made a little mistake. I mistakenly mentioned the date of meeting Selim [instead of the date of issuing the cheques]," Azam said.
He said after two-three months of the first payment he paid Selim Tk 2,22,58,000 in five cheques at his residence on February 10, 2001.
Azam said he later came to know that the money was withdrawn from the bank.
"Later, our work went on uninterrupted and without facing any further problem," Azam said.
Although Azam filed the case with Gulshan Police Station on June 13 last year, he mistakenly mentioned June 10 as the date of filing the first information report (FIR) at this point.
The name of Hasina's sister Sheikh Rehana, who lives in London and is being tried in absentia, was included in the supplementary charge sheet of the case.
After Azam completed his speech, the CPP gave him three cheques of ANZ Grindlays Bank to identify if those were issued by him. Azam identified the cheques as signed by him.
Azam told the court that all dated October 24, 2000, cheque No. 1811414 contained Tk 25 lakh, cheque No. 1811415 contained another Tk 25 lakh and cheque No. 1811416 contained Tk 27,07,500.
Mentioning account number 7265096 with now-defunct ANZ Grindlays Bank, Azam said, "It was my personal account and my name is printed at the bottom of the cheque."
The five cheques, given in the second phase on February 10, 2001, were issued by the Gulshan branch of Southeast Bank. The account no. 11004131, from which the money was given, is official CD account of Eastcoast Trading.
Of the five cheques, the first and second ones (no. 2282632 and 2282633) were for Tk 50 lakh each and had February 11, 2001 as issuing date.
Azam informed the court that the third cheque, issued on February 14, 2001, was for Tk 72,58,000, while the fourth and fifth cheques, bearing numbers 2284034 and 2284035, were for Tk 25 lakh each and that they were issued on March 14, 2001.
"I signed each of the cheques," Azam said.
The CPP then submitted to the court the account-opening form of Southeast Bank and the signature card containing photograph of Azam. The form also had signature of Eastcoast's director Qutubul Alam Chowdhury.
The CPP then moved to hand in the photocopy of the deal to Azam, but the defence objected to it, saying the Evidence Act does not permit producing photocopy of any document before the court.
Judge Azizul Huq, however, said as the photocopy of the deal was seized as evidence it should be exhibited. Defence lawyers argued that the prosecution did not say beforehand that their evidence is a photocopied one and that the main document is missing.
The court then asked the CPP why showing the document is so important, to which he replied that one of the paragraphs of the document says Azam is the local agent of the Russian company.
The judge then wanted to know if the Eastcoast managing director has been made a witness to the seizure list. As the CPP replied in the negative, the court ruled that Azam's exhibiting the document is not necessary.
"He has already stated before the court that he is the local agent of the Russian company," Judge Azizul Huq said.
Heated arguments filled the jam-packed courtroom as the CPP tried to correct the date of filing the FIR, which Azam had mistaken earlier in his deposition.
Azam later revised his deposition saying that he filed the case on June 13 last year.
The defence lawyers raised a hue and cry when the CPP wanted to know from Azam who he implicated in the FIR. The prosecutor also pressed Azam to read out the last paragraph of the FIR where the complainant sought action against Hasina and Selim.
Defence lawyers said there is no point in pressurising Azam to read out the paragraph as he did not spontaneously mention the names of the accused.
As the judge opined that Azam should say about the accused, a defence lawyer said, "The names of the accused should have been mentioned at the beginning. It cannot be said as a fill-in-the-gap now."
As the chaotic atmosphere continued in the courtroom, the judge asked the CPP to get the accused identified by Azam.
The prosecution chief then asked Azam, "Do you know the people you mentioned as accused in your deposition?"
Azam said, "I know only one and he is Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim."
The defence raised objections frequently and the CPP tried to help Azam on different issues while he was giving his depositions.
The judge asked the defence and the prosecution to be calm and maintain the discipline of the court.
"If you continue to act in this way, I will have to impose restrictions or seek legal action. The way you are behaving is very undesirable," said an annoyed judge.
The judge lost his patience when Azam finished his deposition, identifying only Selim as the accused.
"I will ask the Supreme Court for instructions. And none, except the case-conducting lawyers, will be allowed in the courtroom in the future," said Judge Azizul.
The defence lawyers, including Advocate Yousuf Hossain Humayun, sought apology as the court let out some angry remarks. "Sometimes emotional outbursts take place," said barrister Fazle Nur Tapash.
They also assured the court of not repeating such incident in the future.
"You are raising a hue and cry. I forgive you for the first time, but if it happens in the future again, I will resort to other actions," the judge said.
Azam left the dock at 1:05pm and sat beside prosecution lawyers.
Defence lawyer Advocate Syed Rezaur Rahman in a petition asked the court to call for the audit report and income files of Eastcoast Trading for the sake of the trial.
The court, however, did not entertain the application and fixed February 4 and 5 for the next hearing.
Earlier as the court sat at about 10:00am and the prosecution moved to take Azam's deposition, defence lawyers opposed to it, saying the jail authorities did not permit them to talk to Hasina.
They complained that they were denied access to Hasina although they had a court order dated January 17 to that end. A debate took place between the defence and the prosecution at the time.
The judge adjourned the hearing for an hour, asking prosecution lawyers to produce documents whether the jail authorities abided by the court order and the defence filed any petition seeking permission to meet Hasina.
During the one-hour adjournment, Payam Akhavan, law professor at Canada's McGill University and also a US attorney, talked to Hasina.
After the court resumed, the jail registrar explained why the defence could not meet Hasina. The judge then concluded that the Awami League president's lawyers did not move in accordance with the court order and began the trial.
The CPP also objected to Payam's conversation with Hasina and asked the court about the identity of the McGill professor.
"Here we see a gentleman talking to the accused. Who is he and what is his status?" asked ABM Sharfuddin Khan Mukul.
The court, however, did not respond to it.
Several hundred Awami League leaders and activists thronged the parliament complex yesterday, staging a demonstration.