Trials yet to begin, two years on

Families of the deceased, missing and survivors of the Tazreen Fashions fire have expressed frustration over the delay in starting the trials of the factory owners two years after the tragedy.
They alleged that the government’s unwillingness had almost stalled the process at the pre-trial stage as no progress had been made except setting dates for maintaining routine work.
The families of the victims demanded fair and expeditious trial and highest punishment for the people who had committed ‘homicide by negligence’ in the deadly factory blaze on November 24, 2012.
The tazreen fashions fire at Nischintapur in Ashulia on the outskirts of the capital left some 113 people killed, most of them women workers, according to the government. Labour rights campaigners, however, estimated the death toll at 124.
The disaster left over 100 workers disabled.
‘Had the government been sincere about the trial of Tazreen owners, the Rana Plaza disaster would not have taken place,’ said a 32-year-old worker, Hasan Mridha Akash, who suffered critical injuries in the fire.
He questioned the government’s sincerity and willingness and said ‘The government seems afraid of prosecuting the owners.’
‘We are deeply frustrated as the trials are yet to start,’ Hasan said.
Like him, many others demanded highest punishment for Tazreen Fashions owner Delwar Hossain and 12 others.
A 35-year-old worker Shahnaj Begum, who lost one eye and suffered permanent injury to her spinal cord in the fire, said, ‘We want justice…There is no reason to delay the trials.’
‘They [the management] should be punished and victims should be compensated from the money realised as fine,’ she said.
Labour rights campaigners also are frustrated over the slow process of trials and feared that culprits could get away with it if justice was delayed.
‘Delay in such sensitive cases is nothing new in this country…But, it is an ominous sign,’ said Taslima Akhter, coordinator of Garment Sramik Sanghati.
The labour leader also alleged that the nexus between the government and garment owners was causing the delay.
Dhaka’s judicial magistrate court officials said that at least two cases were filed – one filed by the police immediately after the fire and the other by a victim – in this connection.
A judicial magistrate court in Dhaka on December 31 took cognisance of the charges against 13 people, including Tazreen Fashions managing director Delwar Hossain and chairman Mahmuda Akter, also Delwar’s wife, in the case filed by the police.
Earlier on December 22, the charges of ‘committing homicide by negligence’ were pressed by the Criminal Investigation Department against Delwar and Mahmuda.
On February 9, 2014, a senior judicial magistrate court in Dhaka refused to grant bail to Delwar and Mahmuda upon their surrender and sent them to jail.
Mahmuda obtained bail after a few weeks and on August 5, 2014, Delwar was released on bail which was extended twice by the High Court and district court.
Of the total 13 accused, nine are now either in jail or out on bail while the court issued warrant for the arrest of four – two from Mymensingh and one each from Naogaon and Jamalpur.
‘Since the police report related to the execution of the arrest warrant is still unavailable, we are yet to complete the pre-trial proceedings,’ said the court’s additional public prosecutor Anwarul Kabir Babul.
He described as ‘mysterious’ the police failure in executing the court order in last 11 months.
Dhaka police superintendent Habibur Rahman told New Age that he was personally enquiring about what steps had been taken to execute the court order. He admitted that it would have been possible to speed up the process if he had taken the initiative earlier.
Motikul Islam Matin, brother of a victim of the Tazreen fire, had filed a case against the factory owner and 30 others in May 2013. He alleged that he had gone into hiding for fear of life after being threatened by unknown persons.
A judicial magistrate court ordered the Ashulia police to launch an inquiry into the allegation. But, police after delaying the investigation, requested the court on September 24 to run the case along with the one in which police had already submitted charge sheet.