The recent arrest of Saber Hossain Chowdhury has once again highlighted the worrisome lack of attention being given by the authorities to the matter of ensuring that justice is both being done and seen to be done.
While the nature of the cases being lodged against many members or sympathizers of the erstwhile ruling party has already raised questions, the complete disregard for the security of those being taken to court -- with protesters gathering at the premises to assault and abuse the accused -- runs the risk of further eroding trust on the very idea of our law enforcement and judiciary being reformed.
It bears mention that this is not the first time the former members of the previous government have faced such protests at the court premises. Former ministers Dipu Moni and Anisul Huq, and former adviser to the PM, Salman F Rahman, among others, have also been subjected to such abuse at the Dhaka court premises.
Ever since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s regime, the public has been promised time and again that our law enforcement and our judiciary would be reformed, that they would shy away from their legacy of being abused as an instrument of politics -- what we are witnessing at our court premises suggests otherwise.
While there is absolutely a necessity to hold those responsible for more than 15 years of misrule, not to mention the many lives lost in the student movement this year, exposing former members of the ruling party -- or anyone -- to public outrage and assault is not the way.
The silence of the interim government regarding the lack of any clarity on these cases and the shameful treatment of those accused is disappointing. We have been promised time and again that these abuses would be fixed, but as we are seeing, it hasn't happened. There is no good reason why.
It goes without saying that the end result of this kind of abuse is a deterioration in the image of the interim government, something which no one wants.
We understand that the job facing the interim government is a difficult one and that it will take time to solve all the problems that they inherited. But ensuring due process, rule of law, and the basic security of the accused are ones that can be solved immediately with the requisite political will. Failure to do so sends a disturbing message.
While the granting of bail to Saber is a heartening first step, much more remains to be done. Reform does not exist in a vacuum -- if the government wants to uphold the legacy of the student movement and truly create a new Bangladesh, free from the abuses of the past, ensuring due process and rule of law must be the place to start.