Law
Week
JMB man jailed for 15 yrs in first-ever verdict
In the first-ever verdict on an explosives case against a JMB operative, a court sentenced him to 15 years' rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 2,000 or two-month jail in default. Special Tribunal Judge Bhabani Prashad Shingha awarded the punishment to Obaidullah Sumon, 25, a member of the banned Islamist militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), for possessing explosives and bomb-making materials. Sumon is the first Islamist militant to be convicted since the August 17 countrywide near-simultaneous bomb blasts. He also stands accused in another case still under trial filed in connection with the August 17 terror strike. The police arrested him on September 14 in a Gazipur den with explosives, power gel and 50 detonators. The same day Sub-Inspector Shahjahan of Nikhlee Police Station filed the case against him under the Arms and Explosives Substances Act, which was disposed off. --The Daily Star, January 16.
Lower court judges start token protest
Judges of the lower courts across the country wore black badges during court proceedings protesting government inaction to meet all of their 11-point demand. The token protest programme was taken following the declaration of Bangladesh Judicial Service Association (BJSA) at its 55th annual conference on December 21, where it vowed to carry on the protest if their demands are not fulfilled by January 10 this year. The judges would continue the protest programme for two days. The BJSA on November 21 last year asked the government to provide tax-free vehicles and firearms for all the judges across the country along with personal gunmen and guards at their residences. It also pressed the government to pay Tk 50 lakh each as compensation to the families of the judges, bombed to death by Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in Jhalakathi on November 14.
--The Daily Star, January 16.
2 commissioners appointed to give CEC majority
In the wake of an impasse over preparing a fresh voter list, the government in a hasty move appointed two more election commissioners apparently to win the chief election commissioner (CEC) the majority in the commission. The CEC, who has been alone in the EC with the other two members opposing the preparation of a fresh roll, has verbally requested the government to appoint two new election commissioners as they will presumably favour the CEC's move for the fresh list, sources said. On the government's advice, President Iajuddin Ahmed appointed former judge of High Court (HC) Justice Mahfuzur Rahman and the immediate past secretary to the EC Secretariat SM Zakaria as election commissioners. With them, the number of members in the EC rose to five, the highest in the history of the commission. Awami League (AL) led 14-party opposition alliance described the appointments as 'a brazen attempt of the ruling coalition to manipulate the next parliamentary election'. It called a countrywide hartal for January 22 to protest the appointments. -- Prothom Alo, January 17.
EC Secretariat seeks directives on voter list work
The Election Commission (EC) Secretariat has sought directives from the EC on the next course of action in light of the High Court's (HC) January 4 ruling on electoral roll. It, however, continues the task of preparing fresh electoral roll, ignoring the court's judgement disposing of two writ petitions that challenged the legality of the unilateral decision of the chief election commissioner (CEC) to have a new list and activities to that end. The two election commissioners, M Munsef Ali and AK Mohammad Ali, put their opinions in the file, asking to stop the work of preparing the voter list as it is not being done in accordance with the HC's directives. They also suggested convening the EC meeting immediately, sources said. The CEC has neither convened an immediate meeting of the EC nor communicated with the two other election commissioners although 12 days have passed since the HC in its ruling asked the commission to revise the existing roll and put particular stress on holding immediately a meeting of the commission. --The Daily Star, January 17.
New EC members throw weight behind CEC
The two new election commissioners on the very first day in office openly sided with the CEC, with one of them terming the High Court's directive for revising the existing voter is unlawful and beyond its jurisdiction. "It's not a High Court directive. It's its certain observations. It's absolutely [self] contradictory and beyond its (the court's) jurisdiction," new Election Commissioner Justice Mahfuzur Rahman told the press about the HC directive. "If the High Court had issued a rule and if that rule became absolute then it could be called a directive," he argued, adding, only then it would become mandatory for the Election Commission (EC) to comply with it. "Since the judgement is not lawful, the question of compliance does not arise," he said. SM Zakaria, who after taking the oath as an election commissioner had blasted election commissioners M Munsef Ali and AK Mohammad Ali on Monday for opposing the ongoing fresh voter listing, became even more offensive and slurred them. The new commissioners also demonstrated their bias to and support for Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) MA Aziz by avoiding the customary courtesy calls on Munsef and Mohammad, who are opposed to the CEC's unilateral move for preparing a fresh electoral roll. --The Daily Star, January 18.
Bandarban Rohingyas get into voter roll
The Rohingyas from Myanmar living illegally in different areas of Bandarban are being included in the fresh voter list, violating orders of the Election Commission and home ministry. Locals alleged that the Rohingyas are being enrolled in the voter list at the behest of political leaders and local government representatives in a bid to create vote banks. They, however, said these foreigners have been living illegally in areas including Naikkhongchhari, Alikadam, Lama, Roangchhari and Sadar upazila for long like Bangladeshi citizens and it is very difficult for the enumerators to identify them. An intelligence official seeking anonymity told The Daily Star that “around 15,000 Rohingyas might be listed as voter this time." Admitting that the local political leaders may be interested in fortifying their vote bank with the Rohingyas, he said Naikkhongchhari and Alikadam upazilas are more vulnerable in this regard as these areas are close to the Myanmar border. --The Daily Star, January 18.
6 former, serving PDB officials accused in ACC's first-ever case
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against six retired and serving officials of the Power Development Board (PDB) and the Ashuganj Power Station Company (APSC) for wasting Tk 10 crore of the national exchequer in implementing the overhauling of the third unit of Ashuganj power plant. These officials forced a decision on the government for their personal monetary gains between 2002 and 2003, the ACC said following an investigation. This is the first case ever filed by the ACC since its formation on November 21, 2004. The accused officials are: former PDB chairman (now retired) Syed Abdul Mayeed, ex-member, generation (now retired) Dr Engineer MAK Azad, retired joint chief of Power Wing of the Planning Commission Md Golam Rasul, former deputy secretary of power ministry Golam Mostafa Kamal (now serving as member of the Rural Electrification Board), technical director of APSC Ataur Rahman and former director, finance of APSC Syed Abu Yusuf. --The Daily Star, January 18.
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