Fakhrul, Abbas denied bail yet again

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas have been denied bail yet again in a case filed over the 7 December clash between police and the party men in the capital's Nayapaltan area.

Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Tofazzal Hossain rejected the bail petition after a hearing Thursday (15 December), said BNP lawyer Masud Ahmed Talukder.

Yesterday, the former BNP ministers' lawyer sought bail in the court of Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rezaul Karim Chowdhury which fixed Thursday for hearing.

According to lawyers and family sources, a total of 92 cases have been filed against Mirza Fakhrul in the last 10 years. Of these, 20 to 25 are now active, said lawyers handling his cases. The BNP secretary general has served 350 days in jail since 2012.

In the early hours of Friday, a team of the Detective Branch of police picked up Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas from their residences in the capital. Later in the day, a Dhaka court sent them to jail rejecting their bail petitions.

Following a special bail plea on Monday, a Dhaka court rejected bail to 224 BNP activists and leaders including Fakhrul and Abbas.

After an unconventional delay, the two BNP veterans were provided with division facilities after a writ was lodged on Tuesday on behalf of Mirza Fakhrul's wife Rahat Ara Begum and Mirza Abbas' wife Afroza Abbas.

The High Court on Wednesday observed that Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas should have been given the first-class division facilities in prison immediately after they were sent to jail as they are both former lawmakers and ministers.

Generally, a division ensures a higher living standard in jail providing a bed, a table, a chair, a mosquito net, a newspaper and better food.