‘This just shows how judiciary is compromised’

GBNEWS24DESK//

Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Ainjibi Forum (BJAF), a body of pro-BNP lawyers, yesterday criticised a Dhaka-court order that on January 5 asked police to confiscate movable and immovable assets of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman in connection with a corruption case.

In a written statement, BJAF said the court order was just another step to substantiate the USAID report “Final Report Assessment of Rule of Law and Justice Sector in Bangladesh”, published on March 12, 2022.

A BJAF statement mentioned that the USAID report had stated, “…The unrealised reforms on clear delineations of powers initiated in 2007, executive control and domination over the judiciary and increased politicisation of judicial appointments in the High Court and subordinate courts have further eroded judicial independence and accountability. As a result, the judiciary is not perceived as independent, impartial and efficient and suffers from low public trust.”

BJAF Secretary General Barrister Kayser Kamal sent and signed the statement, saying that neither the first information report nor the charge sheet alleged that Zubaida aided her husband in preparing the wealth statement that Tarique had submitted from inside the jail.

They also did not bring any allegation of her agency centring the statement’s submission to the Anti-Corruption Commission, the statement read.

In the process, Begum Khaleda Zia has been convicted in fictitious cases. Tarique has been convicted in a money laundering case, in which he was originally acquitted, and Zubaida has been implicated in the false case, BJAF said in the statement.

“A judiciary must not allow itself to be a tool for legitimising illegal political actions and must not be subservient to any government,” it mentioned.