Political persecution under July case: Councilor accused 4 and a half years after death

Special Correspondent

There are serious allegations that the cases filed over the anti-government protests in July-August last year are being used as a tool for political revenge from the beginning.

Now, in this context, sensational information has emerged in an attempt to murder case related to the shooting incident in New Market, Chittagong. The accused in this case is Syed Golam Haider Mintu, a former councilor of Chawkbazar ward of Chittagong City Corporation, who died on March 18, 2021. This incident has raised deep doubts about the transparency and impartiality of the July cases.

Details of the Newmarket shooting and the case

In July last year, a protester was shot dead in the New Market area of ​​Chittagong. A year after the incident, on September 1, a student of the International Islamic University, AKM Nurullah, filed a complaint of attempt to murder in the court of Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate Abu Bakar Siddique. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud and 182 others were named as accused in the case. Syed Ghulam Haider Mintu, who died four and a half years ago, is at number 150 on this list.

The plaintiff in the case, Nurullah, alleged that leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliated organizations came to Chittagong and carried out a massive massacre in collaboration with the police and the so-called ‘Indian forces’.

He claimed that he had verified the names of the accused himself and from reliable sources. However, the inclusion of the deceased Mintu’s name in the list has raised questions about the transparency of the investigation process.

In addition, the applicant of the case, AKM Nurullah, is alive. Next to the name of Councilor Mintur, it is written, ‘Nurullah is directly involved in the murder case.’ However, the section mentioned in the application is attempt to murder case 307 and several other sections have been added.

When asked about these matters by the plaintiff’s lawyer, Tasnim Akhter Nishat, she asked to speak to senior lawyer Abu Bakkar.

Lawyer Abu Bakkar said, “I filed the case because the case has merit. The plaintiff himself has obtained information about the accused. If you talk to him, you can confirm the matter.”

Unreasonable list of accused in July case

In the cases filed in the July conflict, not only the deceased but also children, the elderly, freedom fighters, journalists, teachers, and even people who had no involvement in the movement have been listed as defendants.

According to the police headquarters, charge sheets have been filed in only 34 cases so far, of which 13 are murder cases and 21 are under other sections. Although the total number of cases across the country is more than 2,000, the number of accused in the charge sheet is now 1,835 and the number of unknown accused is more than 10,000. The number of innocent victims of case trading is innumerable. There are allegations that many names have been unjustly added due to political vendetta.

According to information already published in various newspapers, the number of important people arrested in these cases, including top political leaders, members of parliament, ministers, and high-ranking government bureaucrats, is 5,079. In addition, more than 30,000 ordinary people and political activists have been arrested on suspicion. Although various sources have said that the actual number is several times that.

Other people in the complaint in this case

Notable accused in the case are Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, Land Minister Saifuzzaman Jabed, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, Education Minister Mohibul Hasan, ICT Minister Jonayed Ahmed Palak, Awami League Office Secretary Biplob Barua, CMP Commissioner Saiful Islam, CHSIK Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin, Rezaul Karim, industrial group S Alam Group head Md. Saiful Alam, Sheikh Hasina’s security advisor Major (retd) Tariq Ahmed Siddique, army officer Ziaul Ahsan, army officer General Mujibur Rahman, CEC Nurul Huda, Kazi Habibul Awal, Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque, CHBOK Director (Transport) Enamul Karim.

The members of parliament include – Najibul Bashar Maizbhandari, Mahbubur Rahman Ruhel, Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, Abdur Rahman Bodi, Didarul Alam, Ashek Ullah Rafiq, Anisul Islam Mahmud, Saimum Sarwar Kamal, SM Al Mamun, MA Latif, Mohiuddin Bachchu, Abu Reza Md. Nezamuddin Nadvi, Fazle Karim Chowdhury, Mujibur Rahman and Mostafizur Rahman.

The councilors of the CHSIC include: Pulak Khastgir, Haji Nurul Haque, Morshed Ali, Hasan Murad Biplob, Jaharlal Hazari, Ataullah Chowdhury, Golam Md. Jobayer, Nazrul Bahadur, Nazmul Haque Duke, Shafiul Azim, Nurul Amin Mamun, Hossain Hiron, Abdur Rahman, Abul Hasnat Belal, M Ashraful Alam, Salimullah Bachchu, Shoibal Das Sumon, Hasan Mahmud Hasni, Nurul Alam, Harunur Rashid, Shahidul Alam, Gias Uddin and Morshed Alam.

On August 4 last year, 30 to 40 unidentified police members, including the officer-in-charge of the city’s Kotwali police station, inspector (investigation), all sub-inspectors, assistant sub-inspectors, and another 50 to 60 unidentified people from the Awami League and its affiliated organizations, were made accused.

Litigation as a tool of political repression

Analysts say the July cases are being used to suppress political opponents. The cases are arbitrarily naming individuals, targeting leaders and activists of the Awami League and its affiliates. For example, five Awami League leaders and activists have been arrested in a case filed over an attack on a protest in Pallabi, some of whom were not in the area at the time of the incident.

Some posts on social media have been seen expressing anger from those involved in the July protests. One wrote, “The students who stood by the protests are now being framed. Is this the justice the protests were for?” Such posts reflect the growing public discontent and crisis of trust.

The official death toll from the July-August riots is 834, but the United Nations and Armed Conflict Location and Event Data claim that the death toll is more than 1,400. 11,551 people were injured in the movement, of whom 493 have been recognized as ‘July fighters’. Protesters took to the streets to demand justice for these casualties. But given the nature of the current cases, many fear that this process is disrupting the movement’s main goal.

Adding the names of dead people, children, the elderly, or innocent people to cases not only undermines the credibility of the investigation, but also creates the perception in the public mind that these cases are being used for political vendetta and repression.

One analyst asked, “If the deceased is also a defendant, how impartial will the trials in these cases be?”

Instead of ensuring justice through the July cases, it seems that an attempt is being made for political suppression. The case in the name of the deceased councilor Mintu, the inclusion of children, the elderly, and freedom fighters as accused, and the creation of an unreasonable list are making the trial process ridiculous and unreliable. If this process continues, then the provision of justice will be uncertain, as well as the suffering will descend on the lives of innocent people.