e_Paper, Sunday, July 23, 2017

More documents

Recommendations

Info

2 SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2017 DT News 113 verdicts in 850 militancy cases over 18 years • Arifur Rahman Rabbi SPECIAL A total of 850 militancy cases have been lodged across the country over the last 18 years, from 1999 to March 2017. Out of these, only 13.29% have been settled, while the rest remain bogged down under trial and investigation. Two people lost their lives and scores were injured in a militant attack on the Tazia procession of Husseini Dalan in Old Dhaka on October 23, 2015. It took 18 months to start proceedings of the case under the Anti-Terrorism Act as police took a year to file the charge sheet, accusing 10 militants. The trial finally began on May 31 this year. This is not even the worst instance of a delay in a militancy case. Similar incidents have been under trial for years, while some have seen no progress in a decade and a half. Nine militancy cases were filed between 1999 and 2004, with all of them yet to be concluded. Seven are under trial, while the remaining two are still in the investigation phase. According to the militant monitoring cell of police headquarters, around 3,457 members of militant outfits have been arrested in the 850 militancy cases. Police have submitted charge sheets to the court for 598 of these cases, 21 final reports have been filed and 231 militancy cases are still under investigation. The sluggish progress of militancy cases not only thwarts justice, but also raises other terror related concerns, say analysts. Militants out on bail Many militants are released on bail due to the slow progress of their cases, making it more difficult for law enforcement agencies to track their whereabouts. According to jail authorities, more than 100 militant prisoners have been released on bail from jails over the past six months. Among them are members of New JMB, old JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team, Harkatul Jihad (HuJIB) and Hizbut Tahrir. New JMB’s Abdur Rouf Prodhan, arrested from Dhaka in January this year, was released on bail after giving his confessional statement on June 2. Old JMB’s Saleh Ahmed was released on bail the same day, while Ansarullah Bangla Team member Ariful Islam was released the day before. Faruk Ahmed, who has handled a number of militancy cases as a defence lawyer, told the Dhaka Tribune that militancy trials have to be completed within 360 days as per the code of criminal procedure. Long trial proceedings that require suspected militants to be repeatedly shuttled between the court and jail increases the risk of escape. One only needs to think back to February 2014, when members of JMB killed a policeman and rescued three of their detained operatives from a prison van in Trishal, Mymensingh MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU The main reason trial proceedings of militant cases stall is due to the absence of witnesses on the scheduled date. Not limited to civilian witnesses, police are also often guilty of failing to show up and give statements If a trial cannot be completed within this time, then the court may grant bail to the accused. When contacted, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit officials have expressed their anxiety about the release of militants on bail, confirming that it creates difficulty in monitoring them and leads to the risk that they may carry out further attacks. A window for escape Furthermore, long trial proceedings that require suspected militants to MILITANCY CASES OVER 18 YEARS YEAR TOTAL CASE FINAL REPORT CHARGE SHEET be repeatedly shuttled between the court and jail increases the risk of escape. One only needs to think back to February 2014, when members of JMB killed a policeman and rescued three of their detained operatives from a prison van in Trishal, Mymensingh. One of the militants was recaptured within hours, while the other two are believed to have fled to India. When asked about the risk of escape during transfer of militants to court, Senior Superintendent of Kashimpur High Security Central UNDER INVESTIGATION UNDER TRIAL FINISHED TRIAL 1999-2004 9 0 7 2 7 0 2005 203 16 187 0 203 83 2006 47 0 45 2 45 17 2007 29 3 26 0 29 5 2008 11 0 11 0 11 3 2009 39 0 39 0 39 4 2010 38 0 38 0 38 0 2011 43 0 43 0 43 0 2012 42 0 42 0 42 0 2013 35 1 33 1 34 1 2014 58 0 56 2 56 0 2015 77 0 63 14 63 0 2016 178 1 8 169 9 0 March 2017 41 0 0 41 0 0 Total 850 21 598 231 619 113 Jail Mizanur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that it was the duty of the police to handle the prisoner from the gate of the jail to court and back. Senior police officials said that they had taken measures regarding the problem of escape attempts when transferring militant prisoners. Deputy Commissioner (Media) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Masudur Rahman said: “After the Trishal incident the police are much more careful about the transfer of militants and special SOURCE: POLICE HEADQUARTERS security measures are put in place whenever they have to be moved.” Militant activities in jail Law enforcement officials have also raised concerns that militants held in jail may seek to radicalise other inmates. However, Kashimpur High Security Central Jail authorities have dismissed the concerns as they said special measures were taken for militant prisoners. Kashimpur Senior Jail Superintendent Mizanur Rahman said: “We are aware of who the militant prisoners are. They are separated from other prisoners in the jail and we constantly observe them. It is impossible for any militant prisoners to hold meetings and plan subversive activities while in jail.” Why do the cases stall? Abdullah Abu, public prosecutor of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judges Court, told the Dhaka Tribune that the main reason trial proceedings of militant cases stall is due to the absence of witnesses on the scheduled date. Not limited to civilian witnesses, police are also often guilty of failing to show up and give statements. There are a number of instances where the investigating officer was absent at court despite the accused having been produced before it, he said Abdullah added that, for old cases specifically, there was a problem of cases proceeding in various courts of the country against the same militant. “This wastes time, as the accused cannot be produced at a court if he is already at another one on the same date,” he said. A police official from the prosecution department said for most of the cases where the witnesses failed to show, they were not found at the addresses which were mentioned in the case statements as they had changed residences. In order to resolve the issue, witnesses in more recent cases have to provide alternate addresses and mobile phone numbers as well as their current address, he added. However, it was more difficult to fix the issue of witnesses that later decide against giving statements to the court out of fear that militants may look for retribution, the police official said. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, chief legal official of the state, told the Dhaka Tribune that most trials for militant cases were delayed in the lower courts. However, some militant cases, including that of HujiB leader Mufti Hannan, have been resolved quickly in the High Court. •
News SUNDAY, Local administration had also harassed UNO over Bangabandhu portrait • Tribune Desk CURRENT AFFAIRS Barguna sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Gazi Tarique Salman was not only harassed through a defamation case, but also by the local administration over his printing of an invitation card with an image of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman drawn by a child. On April 3, the UNO was first served with a show cause notice from the divisional commissioner of Barisal, when the former was serving as the UNO of Agailjhara upazila in Barisal. Salman responded to the notice, which claimed the image had disrespected Bangabandhu. On April 18, the then divisional commissioner of Barisal Md Gaus issued a letter in response to Salman’s answer. The letter read: “Gazi Tarek Salman has responded to the show cause notice and explained why the card was printed with a picture of the Father of the Nation without Would Trump self-pardon end Russia investigations? • Tribune Desk WORLD US President Donald Trump has insisted he has “the complete power to pardon” - fuelling speculation he is considering using the device to extricate himself and members of his team from an investigation into collusion with Russia to interfere in the US election. The President made the statement during an early-morning stream of posts on Twitter, saying: “While all agree the US President has the complete power to pardon, why think of that when only crime so far is LEAKS against us. FAKE NEWS.” It comes amid mounting pressure on the leader and his administration over their alleged links with the Kremlin’s purported attempts to influence the vote last November in his favour. Just yesterday, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to rule out the possibility Trump would use his pardon power to shield himself, his family, and his administration from federal lawsuits. The US Constitution does not specifically prohibit presidents from pardoning themselves before they’re formally accused of wrongdoing. So if President Trump, who has not been implicated in wrongdoing, were to decide to grant himself a pass from any prospective prosecution, he would not be violating the letter of the Constitution. But he would be stretching the bounds of presidential power as they’ve never been tested before – and, more Police escort Barguna UNO Gazi Tarique Salman after he was granted bail in a case filed for disparaging Bangabandhu on July 13, 2017 DHAKA TRIBUNE proper respect. His answer was not satisfactory.” On May 24, Salman was transferred from Agoiljhara to Barguna, joining in June. When asked about Salman’s transfer, the deputy commissioner said: “After receiving a complaint from an important person, the divisional commissioner instructed me to seek an explanation from Salman. Accordingly, I issued the notice to which Salman responded.” importantly, legal experts said, Trump probably would not be able to halt Justice Department and congressional investigations simply by pardoning himself and any allies known to be under scrutiny. In fact, attempting to use pardons to obviate the special counsel investigation could backfire, said Walter Dellinger, who wrote about prospective presidential pardons as a top official in the Clinton Justice Department in 1995. No court in the US has ever had to decide whether a president has the authority to pardon himself because no president has ever done so. The Nixon memo Before Trump, the only previous president known to have contemplated a pardon for himself was Richard Nixon as he faced possible obstruction of justice charges from the Watergate special “However, I did not respond to Salman’s reply, the divisional commissioner did,” he added. Then divisional commissioner Md Gaus said: “Some party men came to me and complained about the card and the picture. There was no written complaint.” “The picture was printed on the back page of the card instead of the front page, which violates the rules issued for printing Bangabandhu’s picture. Thus Salman’s answer was prosecutor. Nixon asked his Justice Department (DoJ) whether a self-pardon was legal. Justice lawyers issued a memo opinion in 1974 advising that it was not. The DoJ memo said that under the age-old legal maxim that no one can be the judge of his own case, even the president of the United States cannot pardon himself. The 1974 Justice Department memo is the first, last and only official word on a US president’s power to pardon himself, according to Michigan State law professor Brian Kalt, who has been thinking and writing about presidential self-pardons since he was a Yale Law student in the 1990s. The issue has simply never come before a US court, even tangentially. Article II of the Constitution authorises the president to “grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One, on July 22, 2017 AP marked as unsatisfactory,” he added. Advocate Obaedullah Saju, Awami League Barisal city unit religious affairs secretary, filed a Tk5 crore defamation case against Salman at the Barisal Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court on June 7. Salman was sent to jail regarding the case on July 12 and was released on bail on July 13. The portrait, drawn by a student of class five in Barisal, was selected through an official competition on the occasion of Bangabandhu’s birthday and printed on the back of an invitation card for the local administration’s Independence Day official event. Awami League has since suspended Saju from his post as Barisal city unit Religious Affairs secretary, after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed extreme dissatisfaction at the mistreatment of UNO Salman over an act that she said “should be considered praiseworthy.” • The story was first published on the Bangla Tribune. Unbearable pressure The pardons clause explicitly says that presidents cannot grant pardons from “cases of impeachment.” That clause, said former Clinton Justice official Dellinger, could give special counsel Mueller a mandate to continue investigating the Trump campaign even if the president were legally entitled prospectively to pardon himself and everyone else under Mueller’s scrutiny for possible violations of federal criminal laws. Dellinger drew an analogy to Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who did not charge President Bill Clinton with crimes but prepared a report that served as the basis for articles of impeachment against the president. If Trump were to pardon himself prospectively – and particularly if he were to attempt to use that pardon as a rationale to end Mueller’s investigation prematurely – the FBI and Congress could end up investigating whether the president’s motives, and the motives of Justice Department officials who implemented his orders, were proper. Presidential pardons do not carry an implication of guilt. Presidents have exonerated people who steadfastly maintained their innocence even as they accepted the pardon. If President Trump were to pardon himself, he’d be conceding nothing about his criminal liability in the Russia investigation. But given the questionable legality of the maneuver and the likelihood that probes would continue and even intensify, it’s hard to see what a self-pardon would accomplish for the president. • 3 JULY 23, 2017 DT Judge who punished UNO owes govt Tk93,950 in rent • Anisur Rahman Swapan, Barisal NATION Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Md Ali Hossain of Barisal, who sent UNO Gazi Tarique Salman to jail for using an image of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman drawn by a child, has not paid the rent for staying at Barisal Circuit House for eight months. Then Nezarat deputy collector of Barisal District administration Kalyan Chowdhury sent a letter to CMM Ali Hossain asking him to repay his pending dues on August 4, 2016, according to a government document. The document says CMM Ali Hossain had used room number 7 of the Barisal Circuit House from October 27, 2015, to June 28, 2016. Although he paid Tk390 as rent Although letters were issued to the judge asking that he pay the rent, he did not respond positively from October 27 to November 1, 2015, he has not paid any rent for the remaining days. According to government policy, the charge for staying at the house for between one to three days is Tk90 per day, while it is Tk120 per day for the next four. If the stay exceeds seven days, the rent is Tk400 for each subsequent day. Considering these rates, the CMM’s dues now stand at Tk93,950. The Dhaka Tribune made several attempts to contact the judge, but the phone calls remained unanswered. Barisal district Deputy Commissioner Gazi Md Saifuzzaman said CMM Ali Hossain had stayed in the room in district’s circuit house for eight months, but paid the rent for only five days. “Suddenly we came to know that he had left the Circuit House,” the DC said, adding that the judge did not even notify him before leaving the Circuit House. Although letters were issued to the judge asking that he pay the rent, he did not respond positively, the Barisal DC added. •
Page 1: SECOND EDITION SUNDAY, JULY 23, 201
Page 5 and 6: News 5 SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2017 ‘Dha
Page 7 and 8: News SUNDAY, 7 JULY 23, 2017 DT Wit
Page 9 and 10: News 9 SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2017 DT Who
Page 11 and 12: News 11 SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2017 DT Ne
Page 13 and 14: The road to peace The OIC and its m
Page 15 and 16: A failure to protect Opinion 15 Eco
Page 17 and 18: What’s on 17 SUNDAY, JULY 23, 201
Page 19 and 20: Sports 19 DT SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2017
Page 21 and 22: Sports 21 SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2017 DT
Page 23 and 24: Showtime Films coming out this Eid

e_Paper, Sunday, July 23, 2017

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?