People's rights to justice denied, says Dr Kamal

Eminent lawyer and leader of the Oikya Prochesta Dr Kamal Hossain said the indemnity ordinance has deprived people of their fundamental rights to equal justice and security.

Terming indemnity a very unusual kind of law, Dr Kamal said it also disallows the rights to save a citizen from repressive arrests and inhuman acts.

The government has suddenly promulgated the indemnity ordinance skirting the parliament, he pointed out.

"Such a law that deals with public interest and fundamental rights had to be discussed in the parliament before its enactment," he said while speaking at a press conference in the city yesterday.

Dr Kamal, who also heads the Gano Forum, said that it was the government's responsibility to explain the reasons and necessities for enacting the law before the parliament.

He said the government did not discuss the 85-day long Operation Clean Heart operation by the army neither in the Parliament nor in the cabinet.

"The government must justify why the army was needed to control law and order within one year of their taking office," he said.

The indemnity ordinance cannot protect the government from accountability to the people, he said, demanding that the 'masterminds of crime in the government' must be arrested.

He said the constitution is being neglected and violated once and again, and disrespect to the constitution is now frequent.

Dr Kamal also censured arrests under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) and said the constitution has been neglected through the arrests of thousands under this section.