A total of 20, 326 BNP leaders and activists have so far been arrested and 73, 123 party followers sued in 837 cases filed since 28 October following clashes with law enforcers over a grand rally in Dhaka.
Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, a pro-BNP lawyers’ body, shared the information at a press conference at South Hall of Supreme Court Bar Association on Wednesday.
Barrister Kaisar Kamal, secretary general of the forum and also law affairs secretary of the BNP, read out a written statement at the press conference.
Moreover, 17 people including one journalist were killed across the country over the last one month since October 28, he said.
In the scripted statement, Kaisar claimed that 8, 249 people have been hurt since the October 28 attacks carried out by the government agencies and Awami League deliberately out of revenge.
A total of 636 BNP supporters were sentenced for different periods in 35 cases what they call in false cases over the past three months, he said.
Read: BNP to enforce daylong hartal Thursday
He said that more than 50 lakh BNP men have been sued in over 1.5 lakh cases in 2009-2023.
Kaisar alleged that the government has been harassing and arresting lawyers so that they can’t provide legal assistance to the victims (general people and BNP fellows) who have been arrested and harassed illegally in “ghost cases”.
Relatives of the opposition parties, sick family members, people with disabilities and even under age people have been arrested, he alleged, claiming that houses and business structures of the BNP supporters have been ransacked and looted.
Read: Expulsions continue in BNP ahead of election 'for violating party discipline'
Urging the government to stop the harassment on the BNP men, he demanded that the arrested party fellows including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee Members Mirza Abas and Amir Khasru Mahmud be released immediately.
The forum president and also former attorney general AJ Mohammad Ali, barristers Mahbub Uddin Khokan, Badrudozza Badal, Ruhul Quddus Kajal and advocate Gazi Kamrul Islam Sajal were present at the event.
Read more: Families of arrested, jailed BNP leaders and activists submit memorandum to Chief Justice