Pro-AL, BNP lawyers clash on Supreme Court bar premises

Lawyers supporting the ruling Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) clashed once again on the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) premises on Thursday.
The SCBA Secretary's office was vandalised during the scuffles, allegedly by the pro-BNP lawyers.
The Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, a platform representing pro-BNP lawyers, had scheduled a press conference at the South Hall of the SCBA to address the sentencing of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman in a case related to illegal wealth accumulation and concealing information in their wealth statements.
Prior to the press conference, pro-Awami League lawyers appeared at the venue and created disturbances, but they left shortly after.
Following the press conference, the pro-BNP lawyers held a procession within the SCBA premises, demanding the government's resignation.
In response, pro-Awami League lawyers also organised a procession on the premises to protest the BNP's activities.
A confrontation occurred when the two groups reached the SCBA president and secretary's rooms around 2:30 pm, leading to a scuffle.
The pro-BNP lawyers were accused of vandalising the SCBA Secretary Abdun Nur Dulal's room and removing nameplates from the rooms of the secretary and president.
Both sides are blaming each other for the incident.
Abdun Nur Dulal, the SCBA secretary, accused a group of pro-BNP lawyers led by Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokan, Barrister Kayser Kamal, and Advocate Gazi Kamrul Islam Sajal of attacking the pro-Awami League lawyers and vandalising the SCBA office rooms.
Barrister Kayser Kamal, the secretary general of the Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, said that they were conducting a peaceful procession after the press conference, but the pro-Awami lawyers harassed one of their female colleagues, leading to a confrontation.
Law enforcers visited the scene after the incident occurred.
In the press conference, the Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum said that the government has been using the courts to stop the ongoing movement and struggle for restoring democracy by announcing 'dictated' verdicts one after another.
In protest of the verdict against Tarique Rahman and Zubaida Rahman, Barrister Kayser Kamal announced that they will hold a black flag procession at all the bar associations of the country on August 6 and stage sit-ins on August 8.

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