| Bangladesh |
| 12 bigwigs asked to surrender to trial courts |
| 2009-05-04 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] The High Court (HC) yesterday directed 12 persons, sentenced in absentia in separate criminal cases, to surrender before the trial courts concerned within two weeks. A special HC bench of Justice Md Imman Ali passed the order while disposing of 16 bail petitions filed by 12 convicts sentenced in 16 criminal cases most of which were filed by the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC). Those who will have to surrender before the trial courts are Jatiya Party (Manju) Chairman Anwar Hossain Manju, former state minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, former BNP lawmaker Nadim Mostafa, former AL lawmakers Haji Mohammad Selim, Mokbul Hossain, former BNP minister Saifur Rahman's son Shafiur Rahman Babu, Awami League leaders Md Mohiuddin, and Abu Hanif Patwari, Babul Chowdhury, Masudur Rahman, Sabina Suraya and Mafruza Sultana. Earlier on February 23, a HC division bench delivered split orders on the petitions. Lawyers concerned told newsmen that the convicts would have to surrender before the trial courts within two weeks after receiving the HC judgment. They said convicts, following the HC order, must be put in jail or surrender before the trial courts since those courts have no jurisdiction to grant them bail at this stage. Additional Attorney General M Enayetur Rahim yesterday told the newsmen that the special HC bench yesterday delivered the verdict in line with a Supreme Court order that on April 23 this year directed former state minister Shahjahan Omar to surrender before the trial court within two weeks in connection with a corruption case. Shahjahan Omar's case will stand as a pointer for about 70 others, mainly politicians and businessmen, who were handed down sentences for corruption after the 1/11 changeover. ACC's panel lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan yesterday told The Daily Star the ACC would file appeals with the SC against the HC orders for granting bails to other convicts sentenced in absentia but did not surrender to the trial courts and are not in jail. He earlier said that more than 100 people were convicted in the corruption cases and about 70 of them were tried in absentia. But most of the 70 convicts did not surrender to the trial courts. |
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| Bangladesh |
| JMB patrons sued in Rajshahi |
| 2009-04-30 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] A torture victim of Islamist militants filed a case against about 70 people including two former BNP ministers and a lawmaker yesterday with the Rajshahi court in Bagmara upazila in 2004. The accused include former post and telecommunication minister Aminul Haque, former deputy minister Ruhul Kuddus Talukhdar Dulu and former BNP lawmaker Nadim Mostafa. Abed Ali, an UP member of Mirjapur village, lodged the complaint against them for abetting militants who maimed him as he denied paying them extortion. They have already been accused in several cases for abetting Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) led by Bangla Bhai. Aminul has been on the run since he was sentenced 31-and-a-half years in jail. After the case was lodged, the third court of judicial magistrate in Rajshahi ordered police in Bagmara to investigate it and take legal actions, said Babul Hossain, lawyer of the complainant. Other accused include Rajshahi district BNP General Secretary Shish Mohammad, Union Council Chairmen Rofikul Islam of Bihanali, Besaratullah of Basupara union, JMB advisers Abdus Sattar and Lutfar Rahman, JMB's killing squad member Mostafijur Rahman Mostak. The complainant said he delayed filing the case, as he was scared of the political and financial clout of the accused. He alleged JMB militants unleashed a reign of terror by killing and torturing people in the name of eliminating underground operatives at Bagmara and its adjoining areas in 2004. On April 13, 2004, JMB cadres abducted him from his house and took him to a JMB camp at Razakar Ramjan Kaya's house at Hamirkutsa. They demanded Tk 1 lakh from him. As he denied paying they tortured him for two days. Later, he had to pay Tk 50,000 and came out of the camp crippled on the third day into his abduction. |
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| Bangladesh |
| Nadim Mostafa gets 10-yr in jail for felony |
| 2007-08-15 |
| A Rajshahi court yesterday sentenced former BNP lawmaker Nadim Mostafa and 14 others to 10 years rigorous imprisonment in two separate cases of extortion and criminal activities during union parishad (UP) election, 2003 in Durgapur upazila. However, the convicts would actually serve only seven years in jail as the second court of Additional Sessions Judge Rejaul Islam ordered simultaneous execution of two sentences. All the 15 convicted were also fined Tk 13,000 each, in default they would have to suffer 18 months more in jail. The judge in the extortion case sentenced them to seven years in jail and fined them Tk 10,000 in default they would have to serve 12 months more in jail. In the case filed in connection with criminal activities, the judge sentenced them to three years imprisonment and fined them Tk 3,000 in default they would have to serve six more months in prison. The judge, however, acquitted two of the 17 accused in the cases. Nadim Mostafa and 11 other convicted have been absconding since the state of emergency was proclaimed earlier this year. |
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| Bangladesh |
| Tarique shown held in another extortion case |
| 2007-04-25 |
| Detained BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman was shown arrested yesterday in a Tk 1.32 crore extortion case filed with Gulshan Police Station on March 27. Earlier on Monday and on March 28, Tarique was shown arrested in two other extortion cases filed with Gulshan and Dhanmondi police stations for extorting Tk 81 lakh and Tk 53 lakh from two businessmen on different dates. Metropolitan Magistrate Selina Akhter passed the order following a petition submitted by the investigation officer (IO) Imtiaz MAK Bhuiyan. In the petition, the IO mentioned that Tarique's close friend and business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun in a confessional statement on April 9 said that he, along with six others, extorted Tk 1.32 crore from Khan Mohammad Aftab Uddin, managing director of Reza Construction Ltd, on different dates under Tarique's protection. Tarique took Tk 80 lakh of the amount as his share, and so he needs to be shown arrested in the case, the IO added. Meanwhile, separate extortion cases were filed yesterday against Awami League leader and former state minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and BNP lawmaker Nadim Mostafa. |
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| Bangladesh | ||
| Assassin says he is member of suicide squad | ||
| 2005-11-15 | ||
| Mamun Ali, who hurled a bomb which killed two judges in Jhalakathi yesterday, confessed before a magistrate that he is a member of the suicide squad of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The assassin in his early 30s said he had reached the scene early in the morning and walked up to the microbus immediately after it went there to pick up the judges. He hurled a bomb at the vehicle at 9:05am. Mamun, son of Kamruzzaman who is a security guard of a private building owned by BNP lawmaker Nadim Mostafa at Binodpur near Rajshahi University, said he carried out the attack fully aware that death is inevitable as he joined the suicide squad. Mamun was also severely injured in the blast and gave the confessional statement before the first class magistrate of Barisal, Munim Hasan, at the Post-operative ward of Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital at 12:55pm yesterday.
Mamun tried to detonate a bomb strapped on to his thighs while he was being taken to the hospital in an ambulance but the police foiled his attempt. He said he wore three trousers to cover it. He said he came to Jhalakathi from Rajshahi some 10 to 12 days ago on instruction of the high command. Karim, Moaz, and Rahim received him at the district bus terminal and took him to a rented house in Krishnakathi area in Jhalakathi town. Mamun said he was briefed about the plan and the spot of the attack a day after and he started working on the execution of the plan. He admitted that the two bombs were sent from outside Jhalakathi but did not disclose how the bombs were sent and who sent them. Mamun, who sports long beard, said he kept his mentors informed of every step of the operation over mobile phone. He, however, did not divulge their identity.
Mamun said he hails from Dasmari village of Matihar Police Station in Rajshahi. He studied up to class IX at Rajshahi Masjid Mission. He joined the JMB around four to five years ago and worked under the leadership of Mostafa, the JMB commander of Rajshahi region. He said he never met Abdur Rahman, who he said was the top leader of banned JMB. | ||
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