Police barred pro-BNP lawyers from holding a rally on the court premises, saying they did not take any permission from the court authorities and there is a court directive not to hold any political programme on the court premises.
The Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum – a pro-BNP lawyers’ platform – organised the rally at the court premises, protesting the killing of senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar in Naryanganj, where BNP chief Khaleda Zia was scheduled to deliver a speech.
Shibli Noman, assistant commissioner of Ramna police station, said they did not take permission from the court registrar. “There is a directive from the honourable court not to hold any political programme on the court premises. We are detaining the people who forcefully wished to gather and tried to hold an illegal rally,” he said.
Khandakar Mahbub Hossain, president of the Supreme Court Bar Asociation, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Many meetings took place on the Supreme Court premises earlier. There was no need to take any permission from the court registrar or the chief justice to hold any rally. It is my jurisdiction as the president of the bar to give permission.”
Police personnel allegedly broke the stage at midnight on Friday and put up barricades to control the entry of the lawyers, party leaders and activists into the court area. A huge number of police took up positions inside and outside the court area and barricades were placed in the area to control vehicular movement as well.
When the lawyers tried to enter the court area, 15 lawyers, including a woman, were picked up by police from the Mazar gate of the court. However, some pro-BNP lawyers dodged the police and entered the venue and held a short meeting.
The meeting started at 10am with some 50 lawyers. The speakers used hand mics. The meeting ended at around 12:15pm, half an hour before BNP chief Khaleda Zia entered the National Press Club.
Since the police barred the lawyers from holding a rally on the court premises, they shifted to the National Press Club.
As the lawyers were not allowed to hold a rally on the court premises, Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum President Rafiqul Islam Miah announced that a series of agitation programmes will commence, including a boycott of the court.
Rafiqul Islam, also a standing committee member of BNP, said lawyers will boycott the court tomorrow from 10:30am to 1pm, across the country.
They will stage countrywide demonstrations on the court premises tomorrow, form a human chain on Tuesday and bring out a black flag procession on Wednesday and Thursday in law offices.
On May 22, police refused to permit some BNP activists to hold a citizens’ gathering at the Engineers Institute in the capital on the same issue. On that occasion, police claimed that the hall authorities had cancelled the hall booking. Earlier, the party wanted to hold a rally at Naryanganj and then Jatrabari, but the party did not get permission then either.