Lawyer and rights defender Sara Hossain has expressed concerns over the lawsuits filed against ministers and lawmakers following the ouster of the Awami League government and said those are calling the student movement and its outcome into question.
While speaking at a citizen dialogue in Dhaka on Saturday, she also warned that these cases are unlikely to withstand legal scrutiny and may not progress beyond the initial stages.
The Civil Reform Group-Bangladesh 2.0 hosted the dialogue – titled ‘Interception, Right to Privacy, and Freedom of Speech’ – at the office of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) on Saturday.
Sara Hossain, honorary executive director of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), slammed the way of filing the cases. “Different sorts of cases have been observed throughout the last two weeks, while some have 30, 40, or 50 people as accused.”
The people might have genuine anger and frustration, but writing cases this way will not work out eventually. Those will not sustain and may even fail to go beyond the initial stages. Rather, the cases are calling the movement and its outcome into question, she said.
Questioning the integrity of the policemen, Sara Hossain said, “Did the police file these cases? Did they do it honestly? With a clear understanding? The case statement is not a place to vent one’s anger.”
The lawyer also noted that the British-era defamation law is being used to file cases, after many days. “It is sad that the British-era laws are being dragged into our new era of freedom.”
She also criticised the media’s role in disseminating information from remand proceedings involving former ministers and lawmakers. Nobody should know what happens during remand, but these are now being reported in the media, and nobody is being held accountable for.
She called for a halt to such practices and urged all to allow the laws to take their own courses.