Law
week
CJ
refused Thai visa
Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain was refused Thai
visa for strict visa rules. Officials at the Thailand
embassy in Dhaka declined to receive the red passport
of the chief justice when it was submitted for a visa.
The
chief justice had planned to go to Sydney via Bangkok
to visit his relatives living in Australia. The embassy
official declined to issue the visa in short notice, as
the procedure is to submit the visa application at least
10 days before the visit, sources said. -The
Daily Star, March 20
HC
convicts editors, publishers, reporters of contempt
The High Court convicted and fined the editors, publishers
and three reporters of the Prothom Alo and Bhorer Kagoj
for contempt of court for running a report that an additional
judge 'tampered' with his law exams results. Prothom Alo
Editor Matiur Rahman and Publisher Mahfuz Anam and its
two reporters Enamul Haq Bulbul and Masud Milad were fined
Tk 1,000 each, failing which they are to serve out one
month in prison.
The
court also handed down similar punishment to Bhorer Kagoj's
former editor Abed Khan and Publisher Saber Hossain Chowdhury.
The court sentenced Bhorer Kagoj reporter Samaresh Baidya
to two months of rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine
of Tk 2,000 on him for not only printing the news, but
also the photograph of the additional judge in question.
He will have to spend another month in jail should he
not pay the fine. Counsels of the defendants said they
will contest the verdict in the Supreme Court.
The
two dailies carried reports on October 30 last year that
Additional Judge of the High Court Faisal Mahmud Faizee
had tampered with his LLB results that he obtained from
the Chittagong University (CU) in 1989. Faizee's father
Advocate Mohammad Faiz filed a contempt suit against the
editors, publishers and reporters. Barrister Azmalul Hossain
represented him, while Dr Kamal Hossain, Barrister Rokanuddin
Mahmud and Advocate Mahbub-e-Alam represented the defendants
along with barristers Sara Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
Khan and Tanjibul Alam. -Prothom
Alo, March 21.
Move
to make first defence policy
The Armed Forces Division (AFD) has initiated steps to
formulate for the first time a defence policy for the
country to provide the armed forces with directions to
strengthen themselves on a priority basis, sources said.
AFD, an organisation under the Prime Minister's Office,
has already assigned a number of its senior officials
to prepare a draft of the policy in line with the country's
foreign policy. The defence ministry meanwhile has taken
steps to formulate a policy on budgetary allocation for
the armed forces. The armed forces have been running without
a defence policy since the independence while the defence
ministry does not have a policy on allocation of budget
for the army, navy and air force though these forces enjoy
the highest allocation from the national budget. Defence
experts said the armed forces all too often get into difficulties
while operating in absence of a defence policy. They have
long been demanding a defence policy highlighting the
needs of the forces.
The
armed forces have already started preparing sets of written
goals and objectives, which would include, among other
considerations, their respective size, facilities and
capacities. Top officials of the army, air force and navy
have been tasked with preparing the first ever written
goals of the defence services. AFD will co-ordinate the
reports once they are completed, said sources. -The
Daily Star, March 23.
FBI
to probe only grenade source, not Kibria murder
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team will investigate
only the January 27 grenade attack on Awami League rally
at Baidder Bazar. It will not delve into the murder of
former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria, CID and government
sources said.
According
to the sources, FBI will investigate the source of grenade,
its routes and destinations as well as the country of
origin. However, the sources said FBI would analyse the
documents and chargesheet submitted by Criminal Investigation
Department (CID) in the Kibria killing case.
It
would also talk to investigators and accused persons and
use the obtained information in its investigation, the
sources said. CID is now working on another case regarding
the grenades used in the grisly attack under the explosive
substances act. Trung Vu is in Dhaka to discuss the terms
of reference with Bangladesh law enforcement officials
for investigation into grenade attack, said embassy sources.
The FBI agent is available to review new evidence associated
with the investigation, and also the arrest of eight suspects,
added the sources. -The
Daily Star, march 23.
Corresponding
with the Law Desk
Please send your mails, queries, and opinions to: Law
Desk, The Daily Star 19 Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215;
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