There are lawyers, particularly those ostensibly upholding human rights, who have been vocal in recent times, calling for the release of certain imprisoned persons who had been in the Awami League camp or were flunkeys of the Hasina government. Or they are calling for the cases against them to be withdrawn, or voicing similar demands. They are spending much time and energy to this end. They are joined by enthusiastic human rights activists too.
The question is, why they don't re-channel these efforts? After all, in most instances, their reasoning is not that these persons are innocent or free of any form of guilt, but that the charges against them were clumsily filed, or that the charges are flimsy. So shouldn't human rights lawyers, or activists of the same ilk, be more active in trying to keep these criminals behind bars rather than work relentlessly for their release?
They say the cases against many of the accused persons (which include politicians, journalists and others) are insubstantial. True, many of the cases lack adequate evidence, the charges are vague, and these won't be able to stand up in court. So instead of trying so hard to free them or exonerate them of the charges, why don't these clever lawyers and indignant activists instead work on digging out evidence and establishing true justice, rather than resorting to tirades in the media?
There certainly can be no complaint against the lawyers who professionally defend these characters as part of their job in exchange for a fee. That's what the profession is all about, after all. But when the lawyers are human rights activists and when the protestors are protesting on human rights grounds, then why don't they try to reinforce the cases and ensure victims get justice? Don't let the perpetrators play the victim card.
If proper cases with watertight evidence could be put in place by these experts and human rights activists, then these nefarious elements would remain behind bars and not be set free in society to insidiously spread the venom of their vengeful anger. It is not a matter of revenge; it is simply about justice.
Little incidents, comments and innuendos over the past couple of days have served to reinforce an angst in this regard.
Take the example of Kaarina Kaisar, for instance. A cultural activist, this young woman had been very vocal during the anti-fascist movement of July 2024, and beyond. She was a popular influencer too. She was the daughter of former star footballer Kaisar Hamid. Her grandmother was Bangladesh's famous chess champion Rani Hamid. And then she fell ill, very ill, with liver-related complications. There was an outpouring of love and sympathy for her on social media, but also a flood of vitriolic hate posts.
It was mostly the Awami Leaguers who lashed out, calling her all sorts of names and concocting all sorts of stories about her. Worst of all, when she passed away a few days ago, they flooded social media with messages like “Good riddance” and other cruel comments. When she was alive, she never let such comments bother her, but it is hard to digest such downright cruelty. They don't have to agree with her or like her. They can even dislike her. But show this gutsy girl a degree of respect after he death! Is that too much to ask?
These "critics" are the same people, so indignant about their cohorts from the same camp being imprisoned, spreading disinformation about Hasina's “imminent return” (high hopes!) and how things were so hunky-dory “back in the day”.
The interim government had put a lot of bad elements behind bars and dealt with these cases in a heavy-handed and clumsy manner, leaving the onus on BNP. BNP has been making releases, granting bail, and so on, but winning praise for that (not gratitude from the recipients for their flexible stand, mind you!).
At a recent media conference in Dhaka, there was a noticeable emergence of many journalists who had championed the fascist government. They used this as a chance not just to try to rehabilitate themselves (that would be understandable, from their point of view), but also to arrogantly question why they weren't being given jobs in the media, why “false” allegations were being made against them, and so on. They were putting others in the dock! Talk about audacity!
While the present government may not be perfect (how can it be, sitting atop the garbage and debris of the past 15 years or so?), they have not shown that vengeful spirit we have been so prone to witness after every change in government.
To give kudos where it is due, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has not once resorted to sarcasm or crude criticism of Hasina and her clan, despite the hell she put his mother through, the way he was treated, and the vulgarities she spewed at them and the rest of the party.
There have been some unfortunate arrests over criticism of certain ministers, and some ministers have made uncalled-for comments. But the media has been vocal and critical about this with no retribution or threats.
The interim government had put a lot of bad elements behind bars and dealt with these cases in a heavy-handed and clumsy manner, leaving the onus on BNP. BNP has been making releases, granting bail, and so on, but winning praise for that (not gratitude from the recipients for their flexible stand, mind you!).
But can we be happy with such graciousness? In some cases, yes, fair enough. But in other cases, the cases perhaps needed more astute handling, with sharp legal minds ensuring that nefarious characters are not unleashed upon society to create turmoil once again.
After all, these dubious elements do not lack funds because corruption was key during their reign. And they are using those funds to create as much disruption as possible, a little at first and then increasingly more over time. The government is not naive, and they have an image to maintain. But the young men and women of the country did not give their lives, did not face the wrath of the behemoth that was in power, just to let these people crawl out of the woodwork all over again.
The government must remember, you can't please all of the people all of the time. We don't want revengeful retribution. We just want to ensure justice. Law and justice are not always the same. Freedom and licentiousness are not the same. We don't want to see a ''second coming'' as described in WB Yeats’ “The Second Coming”:
“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned.”
Let justice prevail.
* Ayesha Kabir is the head of Prothom Alo English Online.
* The views expressed here are the author's own.