We have noted with alarm the intensifying crackdown on the opposition, with mass arrests of BNP leaders and activists all over the country in the lead-up to the general election. With over 9,000 people arrested in less than two weeks, including the party's top brass, the prisons are now overflowing with political prisoners, housing more than double their capacities. Against this backdrop, a recent report by this daily highlights how 'ghost' cases are being filed indiscriminately against expats, journalists, teachers and other professionals, who claim to have no connection to the events unfolding on the streets in Bangladesh. It appears that beyond BNP activists and leaders, law enforcement agencies are now targeting those who are thought to be remotely sympathetic to the opposition party, with false or trumped-up charges filed against them.

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Mass arrests of BNP activists quite alarming

For instance, a case filed against Alamin Kazi says he hurled crude bombs at police and carried out subversive activities with BNP men in Shalikha's Talkhari area in Magura at around 2am on November 3. However, the expatriate businessman has not been in the country for the past nine months, and was fast asleep in his residence in Kuala Lumpur when the crime he was accused of was committed. Similarly, Rajib Shikder, who left the country in September, was accused of hurling bombs in Magura's Mohammadpur upazila. These striking anomalies raise serious questions about the authenticity of the police reports and the motivation behind them. While Alamin and Rajib are lucky that they were out of the country and have documents to prove so, how are others, similarly falsely accused, supposed to prove their innocence when it is their word against that of law enforcers?

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Rights of prison inmates must be upheld

While the government claims that the arrests are not politically motivated, the discrepancies outlined above paint a different picture. With law enforcers reportedly making lists of BNP activists and sympathisers at the grassroots level, we are seriously concerned about the possibility of gross violation of human rights and the misuse of the legal system to harass and suppress citizens through filing of such "ghost" cases. The ruling Awami League has consistently claimed that it will ensure a free and fair election under its government, but the use of state machinery to target, harass and persecute the opposition suggests that such a scenario is not only improbable, but impossible.

Under such grave circumstances, we call upon the government to ensure the rule of law and protection of human rights ahead of the election. Such ghost cases may end up benefiting the Awami League in the short run, but they will end up irreparably damaging the credibility of crucial state institutions and the country's democratic future.

On Tuesday, Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul expressed that the interim government was embarrassed by the continued filing of "ghost" cases—a troubling legacy from the ousted autocratic regime of the Awami League. We appreciate this candid acknowledgment from the law adviser, a transparency we did not see from the previous regime. The law adviser clarified that the interim government was not behind such cases; instead, it is ordinary citizens, many of whom were politically victimised under the previous regime, who are now filing these frivolous cases. He further mentioned seeking advice from the judicial reform commission on how to address this crisis. But with the harassment of potentially innocent citizens continuing, we must demand answers and greater efforts from the government.

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No innocent should be harassed legally

Consider, for instance, the case of Mohammad Zaman Hossain Khan. Zaman, a former student leader of BNP, filed a case with a Dhaka court on October 29 against 196 individuals for attempted murder through firing at protesters during the July-August uprising. Among the accused are 53 former secretaries that Zaman alleged to be "agents of foreign intelligence" and "collaborators of fascism, harmful towards the state, and corrupt officials." According to a report by Prothom Alo, some of these accused individuals retired years ago. When questioned about this, Zaman suggested their role during the previous regime was questionable. But are his allegations based on concrete evidence? More importantly, why did the sheer number of accused not raise red flags for the authorities when this case was filed?

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The indiscriminate arrests and murder charges

Zaman's case is not an isolated example. In October, this daily reported two First Information Reports (FIRs) filed with the Jatrabari Police Station that listed the same 442 individuals as accused for the deaths of two people who died on different days and under different circumstances in July. What justification did the police have for recording such dubious FIRs?

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This weaponisation of legal cases must stop

If the allegations are substantiated, the accused should indeed face consequences. But what about cases that are ultimately proven baseless and politically motivated? A veteran political expert told Prothom Alo that filing such cases is, in itself, a crime. Yet no legal action has been taken against those filing frivolous cases. This must change. To end this "culture of filing wholesale cases," which the law adviser said the interim government wants to do, it must take immediate action. Police must exercise due diligence before registering any case, ensuring that only cases with actionable claims and a reasonable number of suspects are recorded. And those who deliberately file "ghost" cases should be held accountable.

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Stop police culture of implicating rivals

Ishaq Islam, president of a union unit of pro-BNP Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, and 300 others blocked Narayanganj Ring Road on November 20, blasted crude bombs, and vandalised vehicles, according to a case filed against them.

Fatullah Police Station Sub-Inspector Shahadat Hossain filed this case.

Talking to The Daily Star, Ishaq and his close relatives said he has been studying in Japan for eight months now. There is no way he could be involved, they insisted.

The case was filed under the Special Powers Act and the Explosives Substances Act, which has provision for the death penalty.

Friends and families said Ishaq is studying Japanese language at Kobe International Japanese Language Academy.

"I have been out of the country for eight months. Yet they framed me in a case over vandalism and cocktail explosions," Ishaq told this newspaper.

"They would have destroyed my whole career if I were in the country now," he said.

His uncle Sohel Rana said Ishaq left Bangladesh in March.

Fatullah Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Rizaul Haque Dipu said anyone can be an accused, regardless of their current location, if they have connections with the incident.

In recent months, police and ruling party men have been filing cases against BNP men in different districts.

The BNP claims 169 "repressive" and "ghost cases" have been filed against 6,723 BNP leaders and activists and 15,050 unnamed people between August and November.

BNP leaders said these were Awami League's "political strategies" to suppress their movement.

In August, BNP started holding rallies demanding the next parliamentary elections are held under a neutral government, and protesting commodity price hikes.

Such "ghost cases" saw a rise ahead of BNP's December 3 rally in Rajshahi and the party's plan for a gathering in the capital on December 10. 

This newspaper recently analysed several cases and found discrepancies in claims made by the complainants and witnesses.

The case filed by SI Rahman Khandaker of Godagari Police Station in Rajshahi on November 17 is one example.

According to the case, Godagari municipality unit Jubo Dal Convener Mahmubur Rahman Biplob and 200 others assembled on Helipad ground in Godagari on November 16 night to destablise the situation through subversive activities, and make BNP's December 3 Rajshahi rally a success.

The complainant mentioned that Biplob and his supporters pelted a police team with stones and brick chunks when they went to the scene, after being tipped off. He also claimed to have recovered four "cocktails" (crude bombs) from the spot after the accused fled the scene.

The SI claimed that he got the names of Mahbubur Rahman and four other accused from witnesses.

His versions of the event have been contradicted by all the three people named in the case as witnesses.

"Police grabbed me by my arms minutes after I heard an explosion and took me to the Helipad ground nearby. There, police showed me four objects that looked like jorda cans [chewing tobacco can] and said they were bombs. Then police forced me to sign a paper," said Yusuf Ali, one of the witnesses.

He said he did not see any BNP leader or anybody else gathering on the ground. He also said he did not see anyone attacking the police.

Police also mentioned local Md Mohiuddin, 63, and Robiul Awal, an auto-rickshaw driver, as witnesses. Both of them said they did not see any BNP men or anybody else, or see police recovering any bombs.

They said police showed them four cans.

In another instance, a case mentioned that 40-50 BNP men clashed with Bangladesh Chhatra League men and attacked the BCL leaders and activists with bricks, iron rods and hockey sticks in Beanibazar in Sylhet.

Car driver Abdul Hafiz who "filed" the case on November 15 with the local police also mentioned that during the clash his car was vandalised by the BNP men.

Asked about this, Hafiz contradicted the allegations made in the case. He said he saw BNP men take shelter after being attacked by Awami League men and police. The clashes ensued when BNP men retaliated.

"I do not know what is written in the case statement as they [police] did not give me any copy," he added.

Ahead of BNP's November 19 rally in Sylhet, at least three cases were filed against 600 BNP men with different Sylhet police stations.

Discrepancies is also found in another case filed with Bandar Police Station in Narayanganj by BCL activist Md Sohel on November 18.

In the case, he accused 24 named, including local BNP leader Ataur Rahman Mukul, and 25 to 30 unknown others for an attack on a local AL office with axes, sickles, iron rods, and hockey sticks.

He also alleged the accused blasted crude bombs and looted Tk 50,000 and three mobile phones.

Contacted, Sohel said five to six people covering their faces attacked the AL office. One of them was carrying a stick.

In 13 days, 10 cases were filed in Narayanganj over subversive activities, attacking AL offices. Over 250 BNP and its front organisation leaders and workers and over 500 unknown others were accused.

In Tangail, at least 11 cases have been filed against BNP leaders and activists in different upazilas until Saturday. These cases, which the BNP termed false, named over 200 BNP men and over 600 others.

Police claimed these cases have been filed against the accused on specific charges, including preparation for sabotage.

Rezaul Karim, OC of Sakhipur Police Station where one case was filed, claimed four people were arrested and five crude bombs  were recovered in drives in different areas after an explosion on Wednesday night.

Eighty-eight people, including 38 identified BNP leaders and activists, were accused in the case. BNP leaders rejected the police claim, saying no explosion took place there.

Saiful Islam, a local, corroborated the BNP claim. He said on Wednesday night they watched a football match from 10:00pm, and did not hear any explosion.

BNP leaders alleged their partymen had to flee their homes in the police crackdown launched to prevent them from joining the Dhaka rally on December 10.

In Bogura, 12 cases were filed in the last 13 days by police and AL activists in connection with vandalism of AL offices, exploding crude bombs, recovery of bomb-like objects and throwing crude bombs at police.

In Pabna, at least eight such cases were filed by police and local AL leaders since November 20, naming 50 BNP men and over 1,000 unidentified others.

Noted rights activist Nur Khan Liton said, "Recently we have heard about cases where we find dissimilarities between what actually happened and what is recorded about an incident in the case document."

Referring to newspaper reports, he said cases are being filed over crude bomb explosions, but people who live around the spot did not hear any such sounds, which is very unfortunate.

In such cases names of a few accused are mentioned, while several hundred others are mentioned as unknown accused.

"When opposition parties announce any protest programme, their leaders and activists are detained and shown arrested in those cases even though they were not named as accused in those cases," he said.

He said this is done by an authoritarian government to prolong its stay in power by creating panic.

"This is done so that people don't dare to criticise the government for its misdeeds. But the fact is you cannot stay in power for long that way," he observed.

Our correspondents in Sylhet, Tangail, Pabna, and Bogura contributed to his report.

The inclusion of eminent lawyer ZI Khan Panna in a murder case is a disturbing reflection of a trend of legal harassment that refuses to go away even after the fall of an autocratic regime that normalised it over the years. Panna was embroiled in the case along with 179 others on October 17. On Monday, the High Court granted him anticipatory bail following a petition. But the fact that he was named at all—with the plaintiff admitting he did not know Panna and had no idea how his name ended up in the list of accused—shows the farce that is being made of our legal system through such dubious cases.

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No innocent should be harassed legally

The irony of Panna's case is hard to miss. Not long ago, the veteran human rights activist slammed the wholesale filing of murder cases over the July killings across the country, yet now finds himself at the business end of one. This doesn't look good for the interim government. In recent weeks, Panna made headlines by criticising the government for various reasons, including the Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus's "reset" remarks, the cancellation of March 7 and several other national days, and the suspension of an assistant commissioner following her controversial Facebook posts. It will not be a leap to suggest a connection between his critical stances and his being accused in a case. No Adviser also came out strongly against the development. This is a PR disaster the government can ill-afford to have when both its credibility and competence are being tested on multiple fronts.

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The indiscriminate arrests and murder charges

As things stand, Panna's name seems likely to be dropped, after the plaintiff filed a request in that regard. That doesn't resolve the concerns or questions raised by the case, however. Over the two months and a half since August 5, we have published multiple reports and editorials on the indiscriminate filing of such murder cases without any evidence, mostly implicating the leaders, activists, and suspected supporters of the Awami League regime. Even journalists and rights activists were not spared. In many cases, fabricated FIRs were filed. There were also instances of the names of accused in cases predating August 5 being replaced. This is nothing but a weaponisation of the legal process for harassment and political vendettas. Such false or exaggerated cases only dilute the justice system, diverting resources away from genuine investigations and creating an atmosphere of fear.

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Dubious cases are an injustice to July massacre victims

The interim government has a responsibility to ensure that the legal system is not abused in this way. While it has taken some initiatives to reform the system, progress has been slow and often invisible. This needs to change. The authorities must take decisive steps to stop the filing of false cases and punish those responsible for them. The real culprits behind the violence during the mass uprising must be brought to justice, but it must not be at the expense of innocent individuals, including government critics.