SQ Chy's wife, son get bail

A Dhaka court has granted bail to wife and son of the convicted war criminal, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, in a case filed for allegedly leaking the draft verdict of a war crimes tribunal that sentenced him to death. 

Judge KM Shamsul Alam of Dhaka Cyber Tribunal yesterday allowed the bail to Salauddin's wife Farhat Quader Chowdhury and son Humam Quader Chowdhury upon a bond of Tk 1 lakh for each with two guarantors.

The duo surrendered before the court and sought bail, 17 days after the tribunal had issued an arrest warrant for them in connection with the case.

During yesterday's hearing, their lawyer Mosle Uddin Jashim said his clients were not involved in the incident of leaking the draft verdict.

The cyber tribunal also fixed November 24 for next hearing on the case.

The draft verdict of the case against top BNP leader Salauddin had been leaked a day before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 delivered its judgment on October 1 last year, raising the question of security of the highly protected tribunals.

On August 28 this year, detectives pressed charges against seven people, including Farhat and Humam, in the leak of the draft verdict.

Four accused -- Salauddin's manager Mahbubul Ahsan, his lawyer Fakhrul Islam, office assistant of war crimes tribunal-1 Faruk Hossain and its cleaner Nayan Ali -- are now in jail.

Another accused, Mehedi Hasan, assistant to Fakhrul, is on the run.