20 BNP-Jamaat members jailed for 2013 violence
Ten people were sentenced to three years in jail, while the remaining received a 2.5-year term.
Twenty leaders and activists of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami have been sentenced to jail in two separate cases in connection with vandalism and sabotage that occurred in the capital ten years ago.
In the case filed with the Paltan Police Station over sabotage in 2013, a Dhaka court sentenced 10 leaders of BNP-Jamaat to two years and six months in prison.
Among those sentenced are Dhaka Metropolitan South Jamaat Secretary Shafiqul Islam Masud, BNP Volunteer Affairs Secretary Abdul Qadir Bhuiyan Jewell, and Dhaka Metropolitan South BNP Member Secretary Rafiqul Islam Majnu.
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The verdict was pronounced by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Moinul Islam, according to Sheikh Shariful Islam, the state lawyer for the relevant court.
Others convicted in this case include Juba Dal leaders Khandaker Enamul Haque Enam, Ershadul, Jonaid, Abdul Quader Khandkar, Dulal Hossain, Humayun Kabir Roshan, and Mizanur Rahman Tipu.
In a separate case filed with Tejgaon Police Station over vandalism and car arson a decade ago, the court sentenced 10 BNP leaders and activists, including former Jubo Dal president Saiful Alam Nirob and former Dhaka City councillor Anwaruzzaman, to three years of imprisonment.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mehedi Hasan delivered the sentences.
The case originated in 2013 when a taxi driver named Babul filed a complaint with the Tejgaon Police Station regarding an incident of a car burning in the Karwan Bazar area.
Recent months have seen an increase in sentences for BNP leaders and activists, with 845 individuals convicted in at least 55 cases in Dhaka. Notably, 615 of these convictions occurred in 33 cases in November alone.
These legal actions come when the 12th national election is approaching while most cases were filed in 2013 and 2018.
BNP lawyers say that the sentences handed down in August, October, November, and the first eight days of December included a maximum of 20 and a half years for Juba Dal Senior Vice President Mamun Hasan, 14 and a half years for Juba Dal Organising Secretary Ishaq Sarkar, and 10 and a half years for former Juba Dal president Saiful Alam Nirob.
BNP leaders expressed concern, alleging that the punishment severity correlates with electability and active political participation.
Prisons turn into torture cells: Rizvi
Meanwhile, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi voiced alarm on Monday, claiming that 100 people, mostly BNP leaders and activists, have died in police custody this year.
Rizvi alleged that the majority of these casualties were BNP leaders and activists. He further claimed that sick inmates were being neglected in prison hospitals, with their hands and legs tied by chains.
According to Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) data, 93 prisoners died between January and November this year in police custody, marking the highest toll in recent years.
Rizvi urged the public to ensure the success of a scheduled blockade on Tuesday and Wednesday, emphasising the need to address the alleged human rights violations within the prison system.
