Case filed against 23 AL workers, including 10 expatriates

FE Team | Published: August 09, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

SYLHET, Aug 8 (UNB): A case was filed against 23 Awami League activists, including 10 expatriates, for violating the emergency power rules.
SI of Kotwali thana Abdul Hamid filed the case against the AL men Tuesday, three months after joint forces arrested 40 party activists, including the 10 expatriates, from the house of a relative of AL's UK unit joint secretary Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury at Pirer Bazar on May 14 on charge of gathering there for political discussions.
Of the accused, nine of the expatriate party activists were released on bail while 14 others, including AL's UK unit joint secretary Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury are in jail.
The arrested were sent to jail on the night under the Emergency Power Rules. The High Court granted them bail on May 22.
Twenty-five of the 40 activists were released on May 24, but 14 of them, including Shafiqur Rahman, were re-arrested soon after granting of the bail and kept them in the jail with a one-month detention order. Another of the 40 AL activists was shown arrested in another case.
Later, the High Court, upon a writ petition filed by the 14 AL activists, issued a rule on the government asking it to show cause in four months why they were re-arrested.
On July 26, the High Court also declared illegal the three-month detention order against them.
The expatriate accused are AL's UK Joint Secretary Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury, its Canada unit President Sarwar Hossain, UK unit leaders Syed Sajidur Rahman Faruq, Syed Abul Kashem, Abdur Rahim, Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, Faruq Chowdhury and Yahia Ahmed and Jubo League leaders of UK unit Mohahid Ali Sohel and Arun Udoy Pal Chanchal.
The other accused are city unit AL General Secretary AL Misbahuddin Siraj, city unit Jubo League President Syed Shamim Ahmed, city unit BCL Convener Habibur Rahman Selim, district BCL President Jaglul Chowdhury, former district AL joint secretary and city commissioner Abdul Khalek, former AL forest and environment secretary Nasiruddin Khan, city AL leader Prince Sadruzzaman, city unit Jubo League leader Asaduzzaman Asad, BCL central member Shamsul Islam Milon, BCL general secretary of MC College Saiful Alam Tipu, city BCL member Yusuf Ali, Jubo League leader of Osmaninagar thana Ajoy Deb and Osmaninagar BCL president Selim Reja.