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BJI Chief Nizami is Victim of Malicious

Prosecution

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Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 3

Profile of Nizami........................................................................................................................................... 3

Personal Life ............................................................................................................................................. 4

Political Career.......................................................................................................................................... 4

Islami Chhatra Shangha ........................................................................................................................ 4

Jamaat-e-Islami ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Mass-movement .................................................................................................................................... 6

As an MP and Minister ......................................................................................................................... 7

As a social worker and writer ............................................................................................................... 7

10 trucks arm case : A glance to back ........................................................................................................... 8

Malicious Prosecution ................................................................................................................................... 9

Frequent change of Investigation Officer ................................................................................................. 9

Other defects in investigation and deposition ......................................................................................... 11

Nizami was not charged until 5 years of the incident ............................................................................. 11

Charge against Nizami was brought in ALregime .................................................................................. 11

Charge against Nizami on unreasonable ground ..................................................................................... 12

No reference of carrying ship.................................................................................................................. 13

Other politically motivated cases against Nizami ................................................................................... 13

Abuse of Judiciary for political purpose in Bangladesh ............................................................................. 14

Recommendation: ....................................................................................................................................... 15

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BJI Chief Nizami is Victim of Malicious Prosecution

Introduction

In Bangladesh, the Awami League-led government has been abusing the judiciary for

fulfilling its ill political purpose. The last instance is the judgment of much talked 10 trucks

arm case, in which the Court has sentenced death penalty for 14 persons including Moulana

Matiur Rahman Nizami, the chief of Bangladesh Jamaat-E-Islami (BJI) and former Minster

of Bangladesh.1 BJI, as one of major opposition parties played the frontline role in anti-Govt.

movement and hence the top BJI leaders are the main target of the ruling Govt. In this very

case, the court has sentences Mr. Nizami on the basis of a charge sheet submitted by Awami-

League appointed Investigation Officer who incorporated Mr. Nizami‟s name after 5 years of

the initiation of the case with malafide intention of harassment. Moreover the mastermind of

the incident has deliberately been omitted from both charge sheet and judgment of the case

since there is no reference as to the ship that carried arms into Bangladesh. This report is

designed to assess the defects of the whole proceedings that was nothing but an abuse of

judiciary for political purpose.

Profile of Nizami

Maulana Matiur Rahman

Nizami is held in high esteem

by the people of the country as

a prominent Alim, Islamic

thinker, ideal organizer, orator

1 http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2014-01-31&nid=82190#.Uu8mqvs09Zo

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par excellence, research scholar, parliamentarian, writer and uncompromising and struggling

leader. Bangladesh Jamaat-e Islami is one of the four major political parties of the country.

He was elected Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami for the session 2001-2003 and the

session of 2004-2006. He has been re-elected for the session 2007-2009 & 2010-2012.

Personal Life

Moulana Matiur Rahman Nizami was born on 31st March 1943 at Monmothpur village of

Shathia upazilla in the district of Pabna. Nizami received primary education in his own

village and then got admitted into Boailmari Madrasah. He passed SSC examination in 1st

division in 1955. In HSC, he was placed in the 16th position of the merit list owing a brilliant

first division from Twaha Senior Madrasah of Shibpur, Pabna in 1959. In 1961, he passed

Fazil (Degree) exam from the same institution owing a first division again. Then he got

admitted into the Alia Madrasa of Dhaka, supposedly to be the best institution for religious

education of that time with a view to reach the pinnacle of education in this discipline. In

1963, he achieved his Kamil degree in fiqh with first class. He grabbed the place of 1st class

2nd

. Then after he got admitted into University of Dhaka and completed his graduation in

1967 with a brilliant result as usual. In this time he became active in politics. Mr. Nizami

achieved a two track success in his life, both in education and in organization. Thus achieving

1st class in every stage of education life Nizami proved the sharpness of his caliber.

Political Career

Islami Chhatra Shangha

Since 1961, at the call of Islami Chhatra Shangha, he joined politics actively and began to

play vital roles with it. From 1963-66, Moulana Motiur Rahman Nizami was the Provincial

office Secretary of Islamic Chlaatra Shangha. Then in 1967, he was attributed by the

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responsibility of the President of East Pakistan Islami Chhatra Shangha. When he took the

responsibility of the president, a hot bed situation was prevailing in the political arena of the

country. He played this role for consecutive three years. Then he was elected the central

President of the Nikhil Pakistan Islami Chhatra Shangha and continued it for two years. In

1967-68, education week was observed by the students. Two booklets about problems of

education and restructuring the education system were brought out on the occasion. This

constructive movement led by Nizami attracted all people. Chhatra Shangha began to gain

popularity for playing the leading role in this education movement. Asad, a Chhatra Union

leader was killed in the campaign against Ayub khan. Mr. Nizami appeared in the gayebana

janaja (a religious prayer in muslim ritual during funeral in absence of dead body) of him in

spite of having an ideological rivalry. Not only this, he also led the janaja at the request of

student leaders. Obviously, this gesture shows that Nizami was personally honored by all in

spite of having ideological differences.

Jamaat-e-Islami

Moulana Nizami joined Jamaat-e-Islami on September 30,1971 after he had completed his

student life. Within a few years he became the President of Dhaka city. From 1979-82, he ran

the charge of member of central working committee. He was elected the Assistant Secretary

General of the organization in 1983 and continued it up to 1988. From 1988-2000, he ran the

charge of the Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami for twelve years at a stretch. On 19

November 2000, he was elected the Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami. After running this charge for

consecutive two sessions (2001-03 and 2004-06), he is elected again for the third session

(2007-09).

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Mass-movement

Mr. Nizami played a frontline role in every democratic struggle and mass-movement in the

post independent Bangladesh. His robust role in the struggle for democracy against the then

autocratic government from 1982-90 is really praiseworthy and object to reverence. That time

he became the target of the autocratic government. Due to his courageous leadership, people

built stiff resistance against autocratic government which resulted in stepping down of it. In

1991, a free and fair election was held under the non-partisan caretaker government

according to the proposition of JI Bangladesh. The whole world appreciated that election. In

order to keep the trend of this type of free and fair election alive, Mr. Nizami, as the leader of

the parliamentary team of JI, tabled a bill to include this system of caretaker government in

the constitution. At last caretaker government system was included in the constitution of

Bangladesh. In 1996, Mr. Nizami‟s role against the misrule of Awami league government

enkindled new hope in the peoples‟ mind. The Islamist and Nationalist quarters of the

country got united against Awami misrule due to his relentless efforts. Moulana Nizami‟s

role against the denigration of Islam and the muslim by Awamileague government, spreading

of idolatry, conspiracy to stop madrasah education, curbing the opposition parties in the name

of public safety act, signing CHT treaty defying the country‟s sovereignty and geographical

integrity, dealing the farcical water sharing treaty of the Ganges and many other antinational

vigilance is unforgettable in a word. He is a staunch advocate for democracy. In the past he

actively participated in all political and democratic movement which included anti-Ayub

movement in sixties, mass movement of 1969 and mass movement against autocratic

government in 1990 and movement for holding election under caretaker government from

1994-1996. He is still playing significant roles for strengthening the democratic process in the

country.

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As an MP and Minister

Maulana Nizami was elected Member of Parliament from Santhia-Bera constituency of

Pabna in the parliamentary election held in 1991. He played a vital role as Jamaat‟s

Parliamentary Party leader in the fifth Jatiya Sangsad (National Assembly) from 1991 till

28th December, 1994. During his tenure as a member of parliament he played important role

as a member of Business Advisory Committee, Privilege Committee, Petition Committee and

Home Affairs Ministry Committee. In October 2001 he was elected as the Member of

Parliament for the second time from Santhia-Bera constituency of Pabna. He was the leader

of the Jamaat‟s Parliamentary Party. He was a Member, Business Advisory Committee,

Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad, Chairman, National Productivity Council for Industrial

Development, Member, National Economic Training Council.

He was sworn in as a minister for Agriculture on 10th October 2001. Later on he was given

the charge of ministry of Industries in place of Agriculture on 22 May, 2003 till 28th October,

2006. He was very much successful to run the two ministries.

As a social worker and writer

Mr. Nizami has already gained reputation as a selfless social worker. At present he is the

chairman of Santhia Imam Hossain Academy and Bera Al-Islam Trust. He is also the

chairman of education and socio-culture Advancement Trust. As a Member of Parliament he

untiringly worked for improvement of lots of general masses especially the people of his

constituency. During his tenure the infrastructure of development of the most undeveloped

and neglected region Santhia-Bera was built up in the real sense of the term. Moreover,

during his time numerous roads, high ways, schools, college, Madrasahs, Mosques etc. Were

set up, developed and repaired.

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As a writer Moulana Nizami is also well known. Till now he has composed 19 valuable

books. Regardless of his preoccupation he traveled about 20 countries across the world and

met dignities and Ulama and participated in the efforts for consolidation and upliftment of

Muslim Ummah.

10 trucks arm case : A glance to back

The incident of Hauling 10 truck arms and

ammunition was held at the night of 1 April

2004 at Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited

(CUFL), Chittagong, Bangladesh. This was the

biggest smuggling in the history of

Bangladesh.2

Two cases were filed on April 3, 2004 with the Karnaphuli Police Station- one under section

19(A) of Arms Act and the other for smuggling under section 25(B) of Special Powers Act.

The name of Matiur Rahman Nizami had not been included in any charge sheets submitted

by various investigation officers during the period from 2004 to 2009. During the tenure of

the army-backed caretaker government, a number of cases had been filed against the political

leaders in the allegation of corruption and various crimes. Even in that regime, no case

whatsoever had been brought against Mr. Nizami. After Awami League led Govt. took

power, Mr. Nizami had been sued in a number of politically motivated cases e.g. war crime

cases and 10-trucks arm case. After 5 years of the incident, the Investigation Officer

appointed by Awami League led Govt. brought charge against Mr. Nizami in 10 trucks case

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10-Truck_Arms_and_Ammunition_Haul_in_Chittagong

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and on January 30, 2013 after a decade of the happening of the incident the Court convicted

him with 14 other and sentenced them with death penalty.3

Malicious Prosecution

The accusation against Moulana Motiur Rahman Nizami and Lutfozzaman Babar is nothing

but malicious prosecution. The inclusion of their name in charge sheet has been made for

improper purpose and without probable cause. The following points are the indicators of the

malafide intention of the Govt. to harass them.

Frequent change of Investigation Officer

The investigation of the arms and ammunition haul of April 2004 in Chittagong has changed

with the changes in government several times. The timeline of the investigation is worth

mentioning here to take an idea as to how frequently the investigation officer of this case has

been changed to get desired outcome as per Awami League led Govt.

1. The police on April 1, 2004 hauled firearms, grenades, rocket launchers and bullets

when they were being loaded on to 10 trucks from two engine-boats at the jetty of a

fertiliser factory during the tenure of the BNP-led government.

2. The then Karnaphuli police officer-in-charge Ahadur Rahman on April 3, 2004 filed

two cases in this connection — one under the Arms Act and the other for smuggling

under the Special Powers Act. Ahadur, who was also the investigation officer of the

cases, initially accused 43 people in the arms case and 45 others in the other case.

3. Both the cases were then transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department in

Chittagong on April 26, 2004. Just after a month and a half, the then CID assistant

3 http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2014-01-31&nid=82190#.Uu8mqvs09Zo

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superintendent AKM Kabir Uddin started investigation and submitted the charge

sheet on June 11, 2004 in two cases, against 43 and 45 people.

4. Again on August 28, 2004, CID another assistant superintendent Mir Nawsher Ali

submitted a fresh charge sheet accusing 41, including Hafijur Rahman and Deen

Mohammad as the prime accused, and other labourers and transport workers. Some of

the accused overlapped the cases.

5. The Chittagong metropolitan sessions judge, AKM Anwar Hossain, on October 24,

2005 indicted 44 accused and completed recording the depositions of 31 prosecution

witnesses till August 14, 2007.

6. During the military-backed interim regime, the then metropolitan sessions judge

ANM Bashirullah ordered further investigation of the cases with seven specific

points, including identification of a ship that had carried

the arms and ammunition. Another CID investigator,

Ismail Hossain, carried out the investigation but he failed

to submit the charge sheet even after deadline extensions

for at least six times.

7. And after assuming office, Sheikh Hasina-led government

on January 29, 2009 appointed the CID‟s additional

superintendent Moniruzzaman Chowdhury the fifth investigation officer.

Moniruzzaman on June 26, 2011 submitted a supplementary charge sheet implicating

11 more, including former industries minister Matiur Rahman Nizami, also a senior

Jamaat leader, former state minister for home Lufozzaman Babar, also a BNP leader,

and other influential intelligence and senior civilian officials, close to the then

opposition BNP leadership. The number of accused increased to 50 in the arms case

and 52 in the smuggling case.

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8. Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal 1 judge SM Mujibur Rahman started the

trial the accused on November 29, 2009 during the immediate-past AL-led

government.4

Other defects in investigation and deposition

1. It has already been pointed out that, the IO of the case, Moniruzzaman (who is the

fifth IO of this case appointed by the ruling Govt.) sought time extension for 13 times

for more investigation into the cases. No investigation can identify the mastermind of

the incident.

2. There were 265 witnesses in the two cases, but only 56 were called for recording their

statements and none of them gave deposition blaming the accused persons.

Nizami was not charged until 5 years of the incident

The incident was happened in 2004. Since then, investigation of this case has been conducted

by Police three times and none of them contains the name of Motiur Rahman Nizami. On 11

June, 2004, CID submitted two separate charge sheets on this case. On 28 August, 2004, the

same intelligence agency submitted for the second time another report on conducting further

investigation. Later on more investigation had been made in the period of caretaker

government and none of those investigation reports contains the name of Mr. Nizami.

Charge against Nizami was brought in ALregime

After Awami-League Govt. took power, the harassment of opposition‟s leaders started. The

Govt. became revengeful especially against those who played vital role in the previous BNP-

led Govt. In this sequence, the top four leaders of Jamaat (including its chief and vice-chief),

Salauddin Qader Chowdhury of BNP and many other leaders have been arrested and detained

4 http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2014-01-31&nid=82196#.Uu8m1vs09Zo

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in cases where allegations against them are too poor to prosecute. This 10-truck arm haul case

is one of the examples of malicious prosecution against top Jamaat leader Matiur Rahman

Nizami.

Charge against Nizami on unreasonable ground

The supplementary charge sheet of Police specifies the accusation against Matiur Rahman

Nizami that, “Nizami was the industries minister when police seized 10 truckloads of

weapons and ammunition from the CUFL jetty in Chittagong on the night of Apr 1, 2004.

And CUFL, a subsidiary of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), is a

state-owned enterprise under the industries ministry. So his involvement in this incident can

be suspected.”5 This fact was evident from the initiation of the case. But no investigation

report (even conducted by impartial caretaker Govt.) made him accused on this ground as this

cannot be a sole ground of accusation until there is further evidence of his involvement in this

case. So, submission of charge sheet against Mr. Nizami on this weak ground is nothing but

intentional to harass him.

When the arms were being offloaded from the boat, the personnel of Chittagong Urea

Fertilizer had informed it to superior authority and upon their information this huge

smuggling could be addressed. So, the allegation against Nizami in this case for his being

Minister of Industries is nothing but politically motivated. Moreover, the arms were seized in

CUFL jetty and CUFL is not the only way to go to Chittagong jetty. So, seizure of this haul

on CUFL jetty cannot be the point of suspicion against Matiur Rahman Nizami.

5 http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=194838&cid=2

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No reference of carrying ship

Supplementary charge sheet given by CID denoted no indication as to the foreign ship that

carried on the arms and no name of the persons had been included who were behind

importing arms in Bangladesh. Even the judgment of the case completely avoided the point

and remained silent. So it can be said that the mastermind of this crime is yet to be detected

and suspects on political purpose have been convicted.

Other politically motivated cases against Nizami

The harassment of opposition leaders has become a very normal phenomenon during the

reign of this Govt. Matiur Rahman Nizami is one of the victims of the oppression. Govt. has

instituted against him a series of criminal cases on fabulous grounds like, war crime,

outraging religious feeling, involvement in destructive activities in Hartal taken place on 27

June, 2010 etc. He had been granted bail in every case except from the war crime case. And

according to newly framed procedure of International Crime Tribunal, he shall soon be

eligible to bail if investigation cannot be completed within one year since his arrest.6 So,

prosecution wants to detain him at any cost and, therefore, he has already been shown

arrested in this case so that, he cannot be released on bail.

Matiur Rahman Nizami is a renowned politician of Bangladesh. He played a frontline role in

every democratic struggle and mass-movement in the post independent Bangladesh. His

robust role in the struggle for democracy against the then autocratic government from 1982-

90 is really praiseworthy and object to reverence. During the tenure of the Govt. led by four

party alliance in 2001-2006, he had successfully performed his ministerial duty in two

ministries namely Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Industries. And no allegation of

6 According to the amended rules, investigators will have to complete investigation within one year from the arrest of any suspect. If the investigators fail to do so, the arrestees can be freed after meeting the conditions for bail. Source: http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=200016&cid=2

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any corruption or irregularity has yet to be raised against him. All of his past records show his

integrity in performing official duty. So, such accusation against him on such a fabulous

ground can surely be said politically motivated.

Abuse of Judiciary for political purpose in Bangladesh

If the good-governance cannot be ensured in a democratic state, its democratic nature

essentially ceases. Among the various actors the government is the main actor for good

governance. Since government consists of three basic organs--executive, legislature and

judiciary, the governance of a country revolves based on these three organs. When an organ

is ineffective or does not work smoothly, weak or bad governance prevails. The judiciary of a

country comprises all courts, which interpret laws, settle disputes, enforce rights of the

citizens and impose penalty to the offenders. A country without legislature in conceivable but

without judiciary a civilized country is hardly conceivable “There is no better test of

excellence of government than the efficiency of its judicial system”.7 So an effective and

independent judiciary is must of good governance. A country cannot claim to have good

governance without providing easy, affordable, speedy and impartial justice to the people. In

this case, we have seen nothing of these pre-conditions of good-governance!

The judiciary of Bangladesh is independent formally. But in action it is biased sometimes.

Independence of Judiciary includes many other independence of Judges namely, substantive,

personal, internal, and collective. All types of these independence are dependent on the will

of the Executive specially on the basis of not interference with the decision of the Courts. At

the same time, the courage of Judges to think them independent and work accordingly is also

needed. But, unfortunately in Bangladesh the political will is not favorable for the

Independence of Judiciary. Basically, any kind of meaningful change, political will is

7 Lord Bryce, 1921:42

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mandatory because our democratic polity deals by various political parties. And Government

is formed by citizen‟s mandate. So, if the political parties (both government and opposition)

have no interest to separate the judiciary from the executive, the process would be

impossible. Though most of the political parties vow to separate judiciary but after formation

of government they avoid the matter. That‟s why the process of separation of judiciary has

reached to a standstill position and the ruling party doesn‟t want to separate judiciary though

they had election pledges. Recently Barrister Rafiq-Ul-Huq8 made a significant comment on

the unexpected situation of the Judiciary as he quoted: “Different courts give different

judgments on the same charge, as the judges act out of their political bias. Unfortunately, the

judgment in a case depends not on the case's merit but on the judges' preference for

respective political parties.9

Recommendation:

1. The shortcomings of the trail as mentioned above have sufficiently proved that this

trial lacks concept of justice and proper procedure. Further, this has been done for

political purpose. So, a retrial is must with newly appointed judges and investigation

officer who would not be politically biased.

2. Moulana Motiur Rahman Nizami is a famous politician of Bangladesh. Harassing him

is a significant indicator of the current condition of democracy in Bangladesh. Govt.

should stop doing such harmful acts and be prudent to its future as many international

organizations (such as the Economist10

, Amnesty International, UNHCR11

, Human

8 Senior Lawyer in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the former Attorney General of Bangladesh 9 The Daily Star, 20 October, 2010 10 http://www.economist.com/node/21525897 11 http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,BGD,4562d8cf2,4c0cb616c,0.html

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Rights Watch12

, Asian Human Rights Commission13

, Reporters without Borders14

)

expressed their grave concern on the present political situation of Bangladesh.

3. Article 10 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights says, “Everyone is entitled in

full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in

the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against

him.” But, very recently the impartiality of the Judiciary is being subject to question.

The Govt. is also using this „place of faith‟ with their ill motive to gain political

benefit which is really unsatisfactory.

4. As Bangladesh, as a state, needs to follows the standard of International law it must

obey the provisions contained in the laws. Convention Against Torture and Other

Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), and

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) are such laws. Under

CAT, the Bangladesh government must ensure that any person who alleges he has

been subject to torture has the right "to complain to and to have his case promptly and

impartially examined by competent authorities." Under article 14 of the ICCPR, the

Bangladesh government must ensure a fair and public trial for anyone charged with a

criminal offense, and such a trial must take place "without undue delay." ICCPR also

requires Bangladesh to protect freedom of expression.15

5. Separation of judiciary must be ensured to conduct cases without political

interference. The system is needed to ensure basic human rights. Without assurance of

justice, the judicial system is almost a showoff. So the issue must be addressed with

urgent basis.

12 Human Right Watch on its official website www.hrw.org on July 7, 2010 13 http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-091-2010 14 http://en.rsf.org/bangladesh-reporters-without-borders-sent-a-30-04-2010,37334.html 15 Article 19 of ICCPR

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6. The investigation report submitted lastly includes in the accused list the name of

Moulana Motiur Rahman Nizami. The investigation officer was very reluctant of his

duty as he extended his deadline of submitting report more than 13 times. So, the

activity of Investigation Officer can be questioned. Moreover, he is alleged to be

biased on political consideration. So a new trial should be started vitiating the prior

one by appointing an impartial investigation officer.

7. Our Constitution has guaranteed the fundamental right to protection in respect of trial

and punishment.16

It says, “no person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,

inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.” But, this fundamental right is not in

operation in respect of Moulana Nizami. He has been victimized of torture both

physically and psychologically in course of interrogation and in prison. The Govt.

should be prudent in behaving with them. It should also make it sure that, they are

being treated in prison in the proper manner as they deserve.

8. The trial of this very sensitive case should have been conducted very efficiently with

proper caution and sufficient evidence. The Govt. should have not influenced the

Court for bringing legal action as their own desire.

16 Article 35 of the Constitution of Bangladesh