The party did not issue any press release nor briefed the media about their stance over the verdict although a minister of the then four-party government and a BNP leader was sentenced to death in connection with the case
The BNP kept mum over the verdict on the 10 truck arms haul case even though the incident took place when the BNP-led four-party alliance was in power.
The party did not issue any press release nor briefed the media about their stance over the verdict although a minister of the then four-party government and a BNP leader was sentenced to death in connection with the case.
A Chittagong special court sentenced 14, including two ministers Matiur Rahman Nizami and Lutfozzaman Babar of the then BNP-led 4-party alliance government, to death in arms smuggling case of the 10-truck arms haul on Thursday afternoon.
Nizami was the industries minister while Babar the state minister for home of the then BNP-led alliance government.
Though the BNP did not give its reaction organisationally a number of its senior leaders gave their individual opinions.
“Everything is politically motivated and there is no rule of law in the country. So question has already been raised in the minds of people over the credibility of the judgment,” Amir Khoshru Mahmud Chowdhury, adviser to the BNP chairperson, said.
Abdullah Al Noman, vice chairman of the party, alleged that many innocent people were implicated and convicted in the case and the government had used the case to gain its political benefit.
Mahbubur Rahman, a standing committee member of the party and also a former army chief, declined to make any comment saying the party spokesperson might talk on the issue. “I do not want to comment on it.”
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami in an immediate reaction condemned the death sentence handed down to its chief Matiur Rahman Nizami in the arms smuggling case, saying the “political motivated verdict” was a bid to make the party leaderless.
The party acting chief (Ameer) Mokbul Ahmed in a statement said: “We are left speechless, surprised and shocked by this judgement. We are countering this government conspiracy both politically and legally.”
“From the beginning, we have been deprived of right judgement. Now our doubts have become true. Nizami did not get fair judgement,” he added.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
