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Bangladesh Supreme Court
Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party on Tuesday announced nationwide agitations and "resistance marches" till November 30 in protest against the death sentence handed to the former premier by what it described as an "illegal" tribunal. On November 17, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) sentenced 78-year-old Hasina to death along with then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on charges of committing crimes against humanity after a trial held in absentia. Hasina is currently in India, while Kamal is also believed to be hiding in the country. In a post on its official social media account, the Awami League alleged that the tribunal's verdict was part of a political "conspiracy" by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government to keep Hasina and the party "out of the election" scheduled for February next year. Rejecting the "illegal verdict of the illegal ICT tribunal" and demanding the resignation of Yunus, the party announced protests, ...
Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Tuesday acquitted a senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader, overturning his death sentence by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in a war crimes case related to the 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan. ATM Azharul Islam was acquitted by the Appellate Division of the apex court. The full seven-member bench chaired by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, delivered the verdict, ordering acquittal of Mr ATM Azharul Islam, a state counsel said. He said the court also directed the prison authorities to release Islam from jail immediately if he was not arrested in other cases. There was no higher court in Bangladesh or any international forum to reverse the apex court verdict, the counsel added. The 73-year-old leader of the Islamic party, which was opposed to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971, was arrested over charges of committing crimes against humanity during the War. Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal sentenced him to death for multiple
Bangladesh Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in a corruption case, overturning the High Court's earlier 10-year prison sentence. The verdict was delivered by a bench led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed after reviewing 79-year-old Zia's appeal against the High Court's ruling on Wednesday, the Dhaka Tribune reported. The Supreme Court acquitted Zia, the party's Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, and all other suspects in their appeal over the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, the report added. The Appellate Division noted that the case was motivated by revenge. Zia was sentenced on February 8, 2018, by Dhaka's Special Judge Court-5 to five years of imprisonment for alleged embezzlement of government funds in the name of the Zia Orphanage Trust. The same verdict handed down 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for five other accused, including Zia's son Tarique and former chief secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui. Each of the accused
Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Saturday said that its judgement of upholding a High Court ruling which scrapped five labour law cases against Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus had no legal weakness or interference, according to a media report. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam passed the order last month, dismissing a leave to appeal petition filed against the High Court judgment, state-run BSS news agency reported on Saturday. The full text of the judgment was published recently where the Supreme Court said there was no legal weakness or interference in the High Court judgment, the report said. Five cases were filed with the Labour Court in Dhaka against Yunus in 2019 when he was the chairman of Grameen Telecommunications. The cases were filed after the termination of employees under a proposed trade union act. In 2020, the Nobel laureate appealed to the High Court to quash the cases, after which the Court issued a ruling. Later, on October 24 l
Bangladesh's High Court on Sunday acquitted former prime minister Khaleda Zia's son, Tarique Rahman, and 48 others, overturning their verdicts in a deadly 2004 grenade attack on a political rally. The ruling comes at a critical time as the South Asian country suffers political tension after longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country to India in August following a mass uprising that left hundreds dead. Rahman serves as the acting chairperson of Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party while in self-exile in London, and could become Bangladesh's next leader if his party is voted into power. Rahman and the 48 others were found guilty in 2018 in the attack targeting a rally held by supporters of Hasina, who led the opposition at the time, leaving two dozen people dead and wounding about 300 others. A court sentenced 19 of them to death while Rahman got life in prison, with Zia's party accusing the ruling counterpart of being politically motivated. A two-member judge panel scrappe
Bangladesh's Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed on Thursday said untoward incidents in the country's apex and lower courts deeply concerned him after a lawyers' group tried to assault a Supreme Court judge in an open courtroom and another lawyer was killed in the past two days. In a rare such statement, Ahmed said he was deeply concerned about the recent incidents in the Supreme Court and events within judicial premises nationwide. He said: All developments are being closely monitored to ensure the judicial processes remain undisturbed despite the challenges. The chief justice said his office implemented comprehensive measures within the Supreme Court as well as in district judgeships and magistracies to prevent a recurrence of such incidents and asked all courts and tribunals to continue their functions normally. "Many problems have arisen at the courts in recent times. The Supreme Court is vigilant so that people can get services from the courts without any impediment, read the .
The head of Bangladesh's interim government, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, says the high-profile resignations of authorities close to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are legal after student leaders who organised protests against Hasina's government issued ultimatums for them to quit. Legally ... all the steps were taken, Yunus, 83, told a group of journalists Sunday night. The country's chief justice, five justices and central bank governor have all resigned in the past few days, part of a dramatic transformation after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs turned into a mass uprising. Hasina resigned and fled to India last week. Yunus said a key priority of the interim government is to restore the independence of the judiciary. He called former chief justice Obaidul Hassan "just a hangman. Syed Refaat Ahmed was appointed the new chief justice on Sunday after his name was proposed by student leaders of the protests. Students vow to cleanse the political