Law Minister Anisul Huq on Thursday said that there is no foreign pressure on the government about the upcoming national election. “If foreigners want to know (about election), we don't mind telling them about it as we do not do politics of killings or lies. We don't hide anything, so we have no objection and no hesitation to let the diplomats know about it,” Anisul said. He came up with the remarks while talking to reporters after a meeting with the ambassadors of Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Spain and France led by EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley at the secretariat in the afternoon. Read more: Petition for extending suspension of Khaleda’s jail term in hand: Law Minister The minister said they will not listen to anyone’s advice about the country's internal affairs as it is an independent nation. “We will do whatever is good for the citizens of the independent state,” he said. When asked if there was any discussion on participatory elections, the minister said, "We want a participatory election. We want everyone to take part in the election. I can also say that there is no question that the upcoming elections in Bangladesh will be free, fair and neutral.” Read more: Foreign diplomats lament rate of women's economic participation while lauding Bangladesh's progress in empowering them “We will not go outside the constitution. The election will be held in the way as mentioned in the constitution. We want all the political parties of Bangladesh to take part in the election. But who will take part in the election and who will not it is up to the political parties,” he said.  

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Advocate Anisul Huq on Monday reiterated that the Digital Security Act 2018 was not aimed at repressing freedom of speech or freedom of the press. The minister said those at an event styled ‘Shaping of third sector - Laws and Policies’ in the capital’s Hotel Sonargaon on Monday. United States Agency for International Development (USAID), International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) and Counterpart International jointly organised the event on the occasion of the submission of some recommendations by civil society for the amendment of two acts in particular: The Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Ordinance-2016 and DSA-2018. The recommendations were put forward for discussion at today’s event. “There was the need for a law to recognise some crimes being committed through digitalisation and advanced computerisation,” the law minister said, adding that no one can say, and no one has ever said the DSA was unnecessary. He also noted that the Law Ministry is not the Line Ministry for the DSA, hence he wasn’t privy to how much stakeholder discussion or engagement took place during the drafting stage. “I don’t know what discussions were held with the stakeholders when the act was being drafted,” he said. Acknowledging the misuse of the DSA, the law minister said: “It is sad but true that I saw many misuses and abuses of the act after its enactment.” “Many file cases under the DSA from the tendency of implicating and landing someone in jail for a few days,” Huq said, touching on one of the ways of misuse. Going forward, the law minister said no case filed under the DSA would be accepted until a cell formed for verifying the allegations accepts its validity. He also said the process to introduce amendments to any act, to the law, must not rely on random demands, and must exhaust the options of delivering better results through changes in the rules. Only then should it proceed to an amendment. That process is now underway in the matter of DSA, he said.  “We will sit with you all to discuss the DSA, it will be better if we sit once before Ramadan,” Huq said. TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Manusher Jonno Foundation Executive Director Shaheen Anam, Dhaka University’s Professor CR Abrar and lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua, among others, were present at the event.    

Law Minister Anisul Huq said on Wednesday that the US did not impose any new sanctions against the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) as the human rights situation has improved. "Human Rights Watch does not write anything good about anyone. But they have written in their report that the human rights condition has improved in Bangladesh. Donald Lu has said that they would have imposed more sanctions against RAB, but did not do so as Bangladesh's human rights situation has improved," he told reporters at the secretariat after meeting with Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md. Hashim. “We (the US) have seen RAB has done much good. We also understand the necessity of RAB. Since human rights situation has significantly improved, we have not imposed new sanctions. He (Lu) has told me so very clearly,” the law minister said, quoting the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu. Lu visited Bangladesh recently. In response to a question, the law minister said that he did not ask Lu for lifting the existing sanctions against RAB because it must be done in accordance with legal procedures. Also Read: Bangladesh's growing economy entices US to maintain good relations: FM “We are following those procedures,” he added. "We will take action against RAB members if they commit crimes," Huq said of the elite force's reforms. “The reform process is ongoing; it takes time,” he added. Huq also said that during his meeting with Lu, he demanded that Rashed Chowdhury, the fugitive convicted killer of Bangabandhu, be deported to Bangladesh. “He asked me to contact their judiciary branch. I will knock every door to bring him back,” the minister said. Lu arrived in Dhaka on Saturday evening to discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship, expanding economic engagement and to hear on labour and human rights. During his brief stay in Dhaka, Lu met with senior Bangladeshi ministers and officials including the law minister and civil society leaders to discuss issues of mutual interest.

The government will extend the suspension of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s jail sentence in two corruption cases, if her family files petition, Law Minister Anisul Huq said today (September 10, 2022). The law minister said this while talking to reporters after attending a training programme of judges at Bangladesh Judicial Administration Training Institute in Dhaka. “If we receive any petition from Khaleda Zia’s family, the tenure of her conditional release will be definitely extended,” he said. Also read: Khaleda returns home from hospital Amid the Coronavirus outbreak, the government suspended Khaleda’s jail term for six months through an executive order on March 25, 2020. The government extended her conditional release in the two corruption cases several times. The former prime minister was sent to Old Dhaka Central Jail after she was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by a special court in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. She was convicted in a second corruption case later. Also read: Khaleda being deprived of due treatment: Fakhrul The 76-year-old BNP chief has been staying at her Gulshan residence since her release from jail. A special team of her personal physicians has been overseeing her treatment.

Bangladesh and the United States on Sunday discussed updating the Digital Security Act (DSA) so that it prevents cybercrime without curtailing the freedom of speech or independence of the press.US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas met Law Minister Anisul Huq to discuss areas of mutual cooperation and the importance of ensuring freedom of expression. Also read: UK envoy lauds climate expert Dr. Saleemul Huq

Two bills were passed in Parliament on Sunday raising the allowances of the Chief Justice and the judges of the Appellate Division and the High Court. Law Minister Anisul Huq moved the two bills -- 'Bangladesh Supreme Court Judges (Remuneration and Privileges) Act, 2021' and 'Bangladesh Supreme Court Judges (Travelling Allowance) Act, 2021'. The Bills were passed by voice vote. READ: JS passes Highways Bill to ensure better management, construction of highways The Bangladesh Supreme Court Judges (Remuneration and Privileges) Act, 2021 will replace the existing ordinance of 1978 while the Bangladesh Supreme Court Judges (Travelling Allowance) Act, 2021 will replace an ordinance of 1976. READ: Rowshan Ara made head of JS committee on Road Transport Ministry

Law Minister Anisul Huq on Saturday said BNP can bring physicians from abroad for Khaleda Zia’s treatment if they want and there will be no obstruction from the government side. “But BNP should keep in mind that the government won’t do anything going beyond the law as Khaleda has been convicted by a Bangladesh court,” he insisted. The minister said this joining virtually an extended meeting of Awami league held at Akhaura municipality auditorium over the upcoming Union Parishad elections. Also read: BNP starts hunger strike seeking Khaleda’s treatment abroad Anisul Huq said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina out of humanity has done as much as she could do for the BNP chairperson to facilitate a convict following the law.

Law Minister Anisul Huq on Tuesday said it has been proved with the conviction of former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha that no one is above the law. “The verdict proves no one is above the law. I think an example has been set with this. If anyone holds any constitutional or top government post he or she has to be accountable for his or her activities,” Anisul told reporters at the secretariat. “I’m not very happy with it. This cannot be a pleasant experience for me. He was the chief justice, and I’m a lawyer. I’ve been involved in the judiciary all my life,” said the minister. “From this verdict, we should learn that transparency and accountability should always be maintained, and those who hold important positions of the state have to be more careful,” he added. READ: Ex-CJ Sinha gets 11 years in graft case Replying to a question, he said, “In Bangladesh history, no chief justice had committed such unlawful work. So, there was no need to hold any trial.” Replying to another question, the minister said this verdict proves that the rule of law exists and the nation has come out of the culture of injustice which was there from 1975 to 1996. Conviction Earlier in the day, a special court in Dhaka sentenced former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha to 11 years’ imprisonment in a case filed over laundering Tk 4 crore. The court also fined S K Sinha Tk 45 lakh, in default, to suffer six months more rigorous imprisonment.It also ordered the authorities concerned to confiscate Tk 78 lakh from his bank account. The court also sentenced eight other accused in the case to different jail terms while acquitted two others -- Md Shahjahan and Niranjan Chandra Saha --as allegations brought against them were not proved. Former managing director of Farmers Bank AKM Shamim got four years’ jail with a fine of Tk 50,000 while Santri Roy Simi and Ranjit Chandra Saha were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment each with a fine of Tk 10,000. READ: CJ Sinha corruption case: Spl court defers judgment to Oct 21 The remaining four accused -- Gazi Salahuddin, senior executive vice president and former head of credit division of the bank, Swapan Kumar Roy, first vice president (Credit division), Shafiuddin Askari Ahmed, vice president Md Lutful Haque -- were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment each and fined Tk 25,000 each. On July 10, 2019, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case accusing former chief justice SK Sinha and 10 others of accumulating illegal wealth and laundering Tk 4 crore.

Law Minister Anisul Huq on Sunday said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia must return to jail for submitting a fresh application seeking permission to go abroad for treatment. Talking to UNB, Anisul also said his ministry has already given an opinion for extending further by six months the suspension of Khaleda’s jail sentences following an application submitted by her family to the government. “There’s no scope to reconsider the application seeking permission to send Khaleda Zia abroad under section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). She has to go back to jail and then submit a fresh application if she wants to go abroad for treatment,” the minister said. Read: Ailing Khaleda’s family seeks permission to send her abroad

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq said Prothom Alo senior reporter Rozina Islam must get justice. He said this to reporters at his residential office in the capital's Gulshan on Tuesday night. The minister said, "I will just say that in such an incident if there is any suspicion of creating a gap between the government and journalists, then the government will surely try to remove it.” On the day of hearing, the court will surely look into it and consider everything. He would also ask the prosecution to look into the case, he added. Read: Health Ministry forms 3-member committee to probe Rozina incident “I can say that Rozina Islam will definitely get justice,” he said. Earlier, journalist leaders including the president and general secretary of the National Press Club and Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum met the law minister and briefed him about Rozina Islam’s incident. A Dhaka court meanwhile, sent Rozina, arrested in a case under the Official Secrets Act, to jail after rejecting the police's demand for her five-day remand. She was arrested for allegedly attempting to illegally “collect sensitive government documents and taking photos of them” from the Secretariat on Monday. Read: Rozina’s arrest a black chapter in history of Bangladesh journalism: Editors’ Council The Prothom Alo journalist rejected all the allegations saying, "I was, in fact, harassed at the Secretariat."