Politics
Abdur Razzaq
Barrister Abdur Razzaq, a senior Supreme Court lawyer, who returned home from abroad last month, yesterday narrated why he stayed away from country for last 11 years.
He said the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina had given a green signal to law enforcers to arrest him in a false case filed with the International Crimes Tribunal.
Razzaq, a former leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, said this while addressing a reception at the Supreme Court Bar Association auditorium last afternoon.
“Why did I stay away for 11 years? Abdul Quader Mollah [Jamaat-e-Islami leader] was hanged in 2013. The situation in the country was bad. We had to stay out of the house most of the time,” he said.
Razzaq thought he would just visit London for two weeks. However, as soon as he reached, he found out that a case was filed against him with the ICT.
“The allegations were that I was on the streets of Dhaka and I hurled bombs on the police. A few days later, I came to know from a high-level diplomatic source that Sheikh Hasina had given permission to arrest me,” he added.
“Police had harassed me for five years [2008-2013]. Police went to my house on December 18 and 19, 2013… It took 11 years to return. I practiced law in England for 11 years,” he said.
Barrister Abdur Razzaq and Associates organised the reception. Former speaker of Jatiya Sangsad and senior lawyer Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar presided over the function.
Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman, Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, a retired High Court judge, Bangladesh Bar Council Vice Chairman Zainul Abedin, ICT Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam, Senior Advocate SM Shahjahan, Advocate Mohammad Hossain, Barrister Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal, and Barrister Belayet Hossain, among others, addressed the event.
