British investigative journalist David Bergman has raised concerns over the remand of Anisul Huq, former law minister, and Salman F Rahman, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's advisor for private industry and investment.
Bergman questioned the move in a social media post on Wednesday, after a Dhaka court granted a police request to remand Salman F Rahman and Anisul Huq into police custody for 10 days in a case filed with New Market police station over the killing of a hawker during the recent quota reform movement.
Although the government in Bangladesh had changed, it appeared that the police and the courts had not, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“I have not yet seen the first information report on which this police and magistrate made their decisions, but this case feels very much like a typical false case that the police under the Awami League government used to repeatedly file against BNP leaders for alleged arson committed by BNP workers.”
“Yes, no doubt the police killed 24-year-old shop employee Shahjahan Ali on 16 July, but it is difficult to see there can be any evidence that either of these two men were actually involved in any way with its ‘instigation,’ other than being a member of the Awami League government,” Bergman added.
He continued: “Six people died on 16 July, the first day of law enforcement killings, so how exactly are these two government members responsible? Are all members of the government then going to be prosecuted in relation to decisions made by particular members of the government or by senior police officers?
“Moreover, there is this. According to The Daily Star, ‘Pro-BNP-Jamaat lawyers did not allow any lawyers to stand for the accused in court. Two lawyers who came to represent them could not stand for the accused as they were assaulted by the unruly lawyers.’ This is atrocious. How did the magistrate allow proceedings to continue in such a situation?”
These kinds of “false and political cases” would continue unless the police and courts were given clear guidance on what was expected of them, the journalist wrote. “And that is the fair application of the law with a degree of professionalism which is not shown by filing these kinds of cases.”
Bergman went on to say that Salman F Rahman and Anisul Huq might have committed crimes during the last 15 years of Awami League rule, “but if so undertake proper investigations, collect the evidence and then file proper cases.”
“According to the press secretary to the new interim #Bangladesh government, Muhammad Yunus, its chief advisor, said ‘human rights will be the cornerstone of his administration and the protection of every citizen is the top most priority of the government.’
“You judge that by how a government deals with those whom its sees as its greatest threats. And so far these criminal cases reflect very badly on the government. It must take this in hand, otherwise this new government will not be able to make any claims on human rights,” Bergman remarked.
