Bangladesh government forms special tribunal for troublemakers

Bangladesh government is mulling the formation of a special tribunal to try those fomenting trouble during the current blockade and shutdowns enforced by the BNP.

Law Minister Anisul Huq Thursday spoke about the proposed formation of an Anti-terrorism Special Tribunal. Sessions judges would try such criminals until the tribunal was formed, bdnews24.com reported.

"We have sent letters to the sessions judges so that an additional sessions judge can give priority to trying such cases," he said.

Earlier this month, chief of the Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry Suranjit Sengupta said the government was thinking about passing a law with death sentence for violence during blockade and shutdowns.

According to the government, at least 55 people have been killed in petrol bomb attacks during a blockade by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) from Jan 5. A total of 664 vehicles were torched and 410 others were vandalised too.

Investigations into most of the cases filed over the violence during the blockade were yet to be completed, Huq said.

The trials would start after the investigation reports reached the court, he said.