Tarique can’t appeal until surrender: Law minister

BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman cannot appeal against his conviction in Tk 20 crore graft case unless he surrenders, Law Minister Anisul Huq said today.

He must surrender before the lower court before filing an appeal, he said in reaction to the BNP leader’s conviction in a case in which Tarique was at first acquitted.

The law minister said Tarique can move appeal if he is brought back to Bangladesh after his arrest.

Tarique Rahman has been handed seven-year imprisonment and Tk 20 crore fine as the HC scrapped his acquittal in a case filed over siphoning off Tk 20.41 crore overseas.

For his friend and business partner, Giasuddin Al Mamun, the previous lower court verdict of seven years of jail term in this case has remained upheld but the fine has been lowered to Tk 20 crore.

Anti-graft body Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case against Tarique and Mamun in October, 2009 for siphoning off the money to Singapore between 2003 and 2007.

Tarique to be brought back through Interpol

The government will bring Tarique back to the country through Interpol to execute the verdict of the High Court.

Minister Anisul said, “There is no extradition treaty between United Kingdom and Bangladesh. So, Bangladesh government will try to bring him (Tarique) back through Interpol.” 

Today, through the HC judgement, it has been proved that the lower court’s verdict was not right, he said.

Tarique got acquittal in the case by influencing the judge of the Special Judge’s Court-3. The judge left the country with his family members to Malaysia a few days after he delivered the verdict in the corruption case on November 17, 2013.

The government issued a notice asking him to attend his job but he did not.

Tarique cannot contest parliamentary elections

Meanwhile, ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that Tarique Rahman cannot contest the parliamentary elections following today’s HC verdict.

He said, “Tarique is disqualified for contesting the parliamentary election under article 66 (2) (B) of the constitution”.

The article says, “A person shall be disqualified for election as, for being, a member of parliament who has been, on conviction for a criminal offence involving moral turpitude, sentenced to him imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release”.