DHAKA: The Bangladesh Awami League on Sunday denounced the charges brought against its leadership, calling them a "politically motivated" move orchestrated by the Muhammad Yunus-led "illegitimate" interim government.
Awami League leader Mohammad A. Arafat stated that neither former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina nor him have received any formal notice of the trial proceedings against the party members, which he said, highlights the "absurdity" of the "unelected" government.
"This is part of a broader campaign by an unelected usurper heading an illegitimate government, intent on erasing democratic legitimacy, silencing opposition, and clinging to power. Such a regime has no legal or moral authority to prosecute a government elected by the people's mandate. An illegitimate regime cannot amend legislation passed by Parliament. Only Parliament has that authority," Arafat said in a statement. The party's statement comes after a Bangladeshi court on July 31 brought charges against Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, daughter Saima Wazed Putul, and several others in connection with six cases over alleged corruption under the Purbachal New Town project. The court also issued arrest warrants against them and fixed August 13 to record the testimonies of prosecution witnesses.
The party leader called the events that happened in July last year "tragic and chaotic" and said that the law enforcement responded to escalating mob violence with the tools available.
"By then, the elected government had effectively collapsed. To suggest Sheikh Hasina was directing real-time tactical decisions is absurd," he added. He said that no democratically elected leader should be "prosecuted for upholding constitutional duties in the face of violent insurrection."
Arafat called the charges of abetment, incitement and complicity "baseless" and said that these were based on testimony from "compromised figures and unauthenticated audio clips." The party leader mentioned that the Hasina government had initiated an independent inquiry to understand the root of the "criminal acts," but the investigation was "later dismantled by the current regime." He also claimed that this is not the only investigation that the Yunus regime has cast aside. "During the 1971 War of Independence, collaborators committed atrocities: mass killings, rape, arson, looting. The International Crimes (Tribunals) Act of 1973 was passed by Parliament to prosecute these crimes. Yet the interim government has halted these trials and is instead using powers outside its jurisdiction to bring fabricated and politically motivated cases against its political rivals," he said.
Arafat said that the Tribunal's rejection of defence submissions and its fast-tracked indictments "expose this process as a political show trial." He also described the amendments to the ICT Act, which he claims are politically motivated, as an "abuse of power, designed to target a specific political party and undermine democratic rights." (IANS)
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