Opposition candidates, activists preparing to seek bail, extension

Many opposition candidates, mainly of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and activists are now busy preparing for appearance before courts after the December 30 general election, held amidst allegations of massive rigging, stuffing of ballot boxes and capture of polling stations.
BNP legal affairs secretary Kayser Kamal told New Age on January 4 that 90 per cent of the opposition candidates and many of their campaigners took part in the elections securing bails in new and old cases.
He said that those candidates, leaders and activists would need to rush to the courts as their bail would begin to expire soon while many others would need to seek bail in cases filed before the elections.
The opposition candidates and their activists already started communicating with their lawyers to go to the courts before the expiry of the bails mostly granted by the Supreme Court before the elections for several weeks. 
Many BNP leaders and activist said that they were worried about the legal battle as some leaders already were already sent to jail on their surrender to the lower courts on the expiry of the High Court bail were sent to jail. 
The Jatiya Oikya Front at a press conference on December 29, 2018 said that 1,574 cases were filed against 1,25,688 named and 1,05,675 unnamed opposition leaders and activists across the country between November 8 and December 25 while 15,568 opposition leaders and activists, including 17 candidates, were arrested.
BNP leaders said that their central sports secretary Aminul Islam surrendered to the lower court in Dhaka on January 3, just two days before the expiry of his four-week bail, and he was sent to jail without extending the bail.
‘It worried us. I obtained bails in 32 cases for 6-8 weeks starting from December 10, 2018. We arranged bail for 110 other leaders and activists, and all have to face similar experience,’ said BNP candidate for Dhaka 14 Syed Abu Bakar Siddique Saju.
BNP candidate for Dhaka 16 Mohammad Ahsan Ullah Hasan said that he already communicated with his lawyers as he would need to start appearing before lower courts from Wednesday following High Court directives issued granting bail to him in 33 cases.
‘None of us has so far been granted bail after the December 30 Bangladesh elections,’ he said.
On November 18, the High Court bench of Justice Rezaul Haque and Justice Zafar Ahmed granted anticipatory bail for eight weeks to BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas and his wife Afroza Abbas, also Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal president, in three cases filed with Paltan police station. At least 65 people were shown arrested in the three cases.
The HC bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Zafar Ahmed granted eight-week anticipatory bails to 200 BNP leaders and activists from different districts only on November 13.
The court also asked them to surrender to the trial courts concerned in eight weeks in the cases filed on different charges, including obstructing cops from discharging duties and hatching conspiracy against the government.
Dhaka metropolitan public prosecutor Abduallh Abu said that they had taken preparation, as they always did, for the cases considering merits. 
‘But, bail absolutely depends on the judges,’ said Abu.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net