The future of the cases filed against BNP Acting Chairman Tariq Rahman, who is stationed in London, is being discussed in various quarters. Will the government withdraw these cases, or should he be imprisoned? After the fall of the Awami League government in the student uprising, these questions are swirling in the public mind.
BNP has been urging the interim government to withdraw Tariq Rahman’s ‘political case’. Party leaders are angry that no effective action has been taken in this regard even after the completion of two months of the government’s tenure. BNP leaders and lawyers are hinting that Tariq Rahman may return to the country early next year after the case is withdrawn.
In this situation, on Monday, the Nationalist Lawyers Forum demanded the withdrawal of all cases of Tariq Rahman. Otherwise, they have been warned that they will start the movement again. President of Lawyers Forum Zainul Abedin gave this warning in a press conference at the Supreme Court Bar Bhavan.
It is known that 80 cases including sedition are pending against Tariq Rahman. Since the caretaker government in 2007 and later Awami League came to power, these cases have been happening till now. In the last six years, he has been sentenced in five cases including grenade attack, money laundering, defamation on August 21. Various courts have completed the trial of the cases showing absconding.
Those related to the case say that Tariq Rahman must return to the country and appear in court. After that, in all the cases in which he has been sentenced, he has to surrender and take bail in those courts. But the government can cancel or suspend all his sentences by executive order. However, the interim government came to power and promised to withdraw all political cases. However, no case of Tariq Rahman has been withdrawn in the last two months. This has created anger among BNP activists.
It is known that 17 cases were filed against Tariq Rahman during the One-Eleven government. Later, in the 15 and a half years of Sheikh Hasina’s government, there were at least 20 more cases, including the August 21 grenade attack case, money laundering and defamation cases in various district police stations across the country. Apart from this, there are 50 other cases against him in different districts and police stations. However, the lawyers of BNP do not have the exact statistics of these cases filed separately at the district and police station levels.
However, after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, the plaintiffs withdrew several cases. Currently there are 80 more cases against him.
Party sources say that Tariq Rahman wants to deal with the cases through legal process and not any mercy or executive order. A strong panel of lawyers is working on his behalf for this. He will return home only after the final settlement of the cases through legal process.
The leaders of the lawyers’ forum claimed that the formal verdict of several false cases has been announced against Tariq Rahman on the orders of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Lawyer Zainul Abedin said, I demand immediate withdrawal of all false cases of Tariq Rahman. Otherwise, the legal society will be forced to take to the streets again.
In this regard, the senior lawyer of the Supreme Court ZI Khan Panna told Samakal that he has been sentenced in the court. The issue of withdrawing the case is entirely the decision of the court. But since these are political cases, the government can also take action in this regard without going to court. It depends on the goodwill of the government.
BNP Chairperson’s advisor and Tariq Rahman’s lawyer panel member Masud Ahmed Talukdar told Samakal that currently the people’s government is in power. Their legal responsibility is to withdraw these cases quickly. We hope that the government will immediately withdraw these cases.
BNP Legal Affairs Secretary and Nationalist Lawyers Forum Secretary General Barrister Kaiser Kamal told Samakal that the current government has promised that all political cases including Tariq Rahman will be withdrawn. We do not see any sign of withdrawing his case from the government so far. Because of this, the people of the country are in a state of confusion.
Jail sentence in money laundering case
Tariq Rahman was acquitted by a court in Dhaka in 2013 in a case of money laundering in Singapore. Tareq’s friend and businessman Ghiyasuddin Al Mamun was sentenced to seven years in prison in that case.
ACC appealed to the High Court against the judgment of the trial court. In 2016, the High Court overturned the trial court’s verdict and sentenced Tariq Rahman to seven years in prison. Also fined 20 crore rupees. This was Tariq Rahman’s first sentence. The case is awaiting final disposition in the Appellate Division.
Life in the August 21 grenade attack case
On August 21, 2004, a grenade attack took place at the Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka. In that attack, the then leader of the opposition Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and some top leaders of the party narrowly survived but 24 people were killed. More than four hundred activists were injured.
In the murder case filed in that incident, on October 10, 2018, Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal No. 1 sentenced 19 people to death and 19 people including Tarek Rahman were sentenced to life imprisonment. On the same day, the court of Dhaka also sentenced Tariq Rahman to 20 years imprisonment in the Explosive Substances Act case arising out of that incident.
Currently, the death reference case is being approved and the hearing of the appeal is going on in the High Court. However, in the ongoing situation, after the reconstitution of the bench, the accused applied for time in this case.
Punishment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case
In 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. This case was filed on the allegation of misappropriation of 2 crore 10 lakh taka from abroad for orphans by depositing it as their own instead of using it for trust work.
In 2018, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was sentenced to five years in prison by the judicial court in this case. At the same time Tariq Rahman and other five accused were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Tariq Rahman’s sentence is still up because he is out of the country and has not served his sentence. The case is currently pending before the Appellate Division.
In 2007
, Tarek Rahman, his wife Dr. ACC filed a case against Zobaida Rahman and her mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu. It is claimed that Tariq Rahman and his wife have illegal assets of more than Tk 4 crore 80 lakh in addition to their declared income. In August last year, the judicial court of Dhaka sentenced Tariq Rahman to 9 years and his wife to 3 years in this case. Tariq Rahman’s 9-year sentence in this case is still in effect.
Sentenced in Narail defamation case
In 2014, in a rally in London, Tarek Rahman commented that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was Razakar and Pakbandhu. When a defamation case was filed against him in Narail, the court of Narail sentenced him to two years in prison in 2021. At least 10 defamation cases are pending against Tariq Rahman in the court of Dhaka. These cases have been filed on charges of insulting Bangabandhu and distorting history.
Several cases of sedition
A case of sedition was filed against Tariq Rahman in Tejgaon police station in 2015 for threatening the independence and sovereignty of the country by spreading misleading information through collusion with Ekushe Television chairman Abdus Salam. There is also an arrest warrant against him in this case. Apart from this, there are several other cases of sedition in various districts including Noakhali. There are arrest warrants against him in these cases.
Digital Security Act
There are several cases of Digital Security Act against Tarek in different districts including Dhaka. AB Siddiqui, president of Jannetri Parishad, filed a case under the Digital Security Act in Dhaka’s CMM court in 2020 for threatening to kill former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
When asked about the overall issue, BNP Joint Secretary General Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon told Samakal that Tariq Rahman respects the law. So the cases will be dealt with in the legal process. We are working on the cases as his lawyers. Hopefully, if justice is served, he will be acquitted in all the cases.
Tariq Rahman was arrested on March 7, 2007 during the government of One Eleven. On September 3 the following year, he was paroled and went to London with his family. The previous Awami League government failed in trying to bring him back to the country.
