The High Court (HC) on Wednesday sentenced BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Advisor Habibur Rahman to five months in jail in a case filed over contempt of court around three years back.
A two-member bench of Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman and Justice Md Bashir Ullah also fined the convict Tk 2, 000.
In the observation, the court said the convict gave wrong messages to people of the country and undermined the judiciary division. In this circumstance the court can’t stay idle keeping its eyes closed. To bury the court is to bury the country.
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The convicted BNP leader was present in the court during the delivery of the judgment and he acknowledged the allegations brought against him.
Lawyers Fazlur Rahman, Mahbub Uddin Khokan, Ruhul Quddus Kazal, Kamrul Islam Sajal, Syed Mamun Mahbub and Ehsanur Rahman stood for the BNP leader in the court.
Deputy Attorney General KM Masud Rumy represented the state in the court.
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Habibur Rahman, also president of Pabna district unit BNP, abused the then Dhaka Special Judge Court Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman, who delivered judgment against Khaleda Zia in Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust Case in 2018, at a television talk show following the verdict.
Later, a case was filed accusing the BNP leader.
In 2019, the judge was appointed as an HC Justice.
On October 15 this year, the HC asked the BNP leader to explain his remarks about the justice on November 6 and issued a rule asking as to why punitive measures won’t be taken against him.
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As he didn’t appear on that date, on November 8 the HC wanted to know the whereabouts of the BNP leader and ordered the authorities concerned including the inspector general of police (IGP) to produce him by December 7.
On November 21, the Rapid Action Battalion arrested him from Mirpur DOHS area and since then he has been in jail.