BNP on Saturday alleged that the government has unleashed a fascist and repressive rule in the country by shutting down all the avenues of justice for people. In a statement, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “The illegal regime that usurped the state power is now repressing people like a fascist.  In this case, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing are the main weapons of the ruling quarter.” He also said people belonging to opposition parties, including BNP, are being killed selectively in the name of different drives across the country. “All the avenues of justice for people have been closed in the country.” The statement was issued on the occasion of the United Nations’ International Day in Support of Victims of Torture to be observed across the country on Sunday. Read: AL govt has become enemy of people: Fakhrul Fakhrul said the government has imposed the one-party misrule on the country since it has no accountability to people.  “Evil attempts are being made to regulate the media through intimidation and threats. “Freedom of the press is now completely at stake,” he said. Stating that the country is going through a tough time, the BNP leader said political leaders, human rights activists, political analysts who are vocal in favour of democracy are being subjected to oppression, enforced disappearance and killing. He said the government has continued filing 'false' cases against BNP leaders and activists and dissidents and arresting them. “All the achievements and progress of the nation are now being lost in the darkness. Democracy is being hit the hardest by the continuance of oppression. We have to remove this anarchy,” Fakhrul said. Read: Padma Bridge symbol of Bangladesh’s “economic strength, confidence” He alleged that BNP chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia has been kept under house arrest by convicting her in completely untrue and fabricated cases out of the government’s vengeance. “Despite the fact that our leader is very ill, the government is not giving her any scope to go abroad for proper such treatment. Her life has been put in danger for lack of advanced treatment,” the BNP leader said. He urged the democracy-loving people of the country to get united and put up a resistance against all forms of oppression.    

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday urged judges and lawyers to ensure people’s right to quick and hassle-free justice.   "Getting justice quickly, less expensively and hassle-free is the right of the people. This can boost people's confidence and trust. Although we have our confidence and trust in the judiciary, (we’ll request it) to pay some attention to the matter," she said.   The Prime Minister said this while inaugurating the newly-built Chief Judicial Magistrate Court Building in Dhaka virtually from her official residence.   She said that till June 2020, there are some 3,794,908 cases pending in the courts and requested the judges and lawyers to find a way for quick verdicts in the cases.   "Let not so many cases pile up. Please be cordial and take steps to finish these trials. We’ll extend our cooperation if needed, but we don’t want such a huge number of cases to remain pending," she said.   The Prime Minister said that the Awami League government always pledged to establish rule of law. "Whenever we came to power, we ensured that first, we put our special attention to establish the right of justice for all. We work in that direction," she said.   Recalling the miserable days of her and her younger sister’s wait for justice for the August 15 killings where her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated with other members of the family, she said that no-one should suffer in the absence of justice like they did.