Canadian court labels BNP a terrorist organisation

In January, Canadian Federal Court turned down an appeal by Md Jewel Gazi, a Swechchhasebak Dal activist from Mirpur, against the decision of an immigration officer last year to not grant him permanent residence on the grounds that BNP was involved in acts of terrorism. Awami League has hailed the verdict, calling it BNP’s indictment for its criminal acts. BNP has criticised the verdict, claiming that the ruling Awami League was behind it. More than 100 people are believed to have been killed in a violent three-month blockade enforced by the BNP and its allies in 2015. “Politics in Bangladesh is a violent affair,” the court said in its verdict. While it acknowledged that both parties were involved in conflict, the court remarked that mutual misconduct did not exculpate BNP from being considered a terrorist organisation under the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. It said it found that the immigration officer had reasonable grounds to believe that the BNP, through general strikes and hartals, was engaged in terrorism as defined by the Criminal Code of the country. “To emphasise, Canada defines terrorism very broadly and in my view, in such a way that hartals may reasonably be said to come within that definition. To repeat, Canada’s definition of terrorism in this case include acts and omissions outside Canada (e.g., that occurred in Bangladesh) that have elements of intimidation of the public or parts of the public,” the verdict read.Awami League proposes tribunal to try BNPMeanwhile, the Awami League has suggested establishing a special tribunal to put the BNP on trial for its “acts of terrorism” after the Canadian court’s observation. “We have been repeatedly saying that the BNP is a terrorist ogranisation. The Canadian court’s verdict has proven us right,” Awami League Publicity Secretary Hasan Mahmud told a media briefing at the party chief’s Dhanmondi office on Thursday. Referring to the verdict, Hasan said the BNP had “lost its political character and turned into a terrorist organisation.” “The time has come to bring the BNP to book for its terrorist activities,” he told the briefing, held to clear the ruling party’s stance on the issue. “For this, forming a special tribunal is crucial,” he added.