Hasina, 11 others sued for treason in Narayanganj
A case was filed against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, three former chief election commissioners and eight others on charge of treason on Thursday.
Md. Abdul Bari Bhuiyan, general secretary of Fatullah Thana BNP and a senior lawyer, filed the case with the court of Fatullah Senior Judicial Magistrate Md. Haidar Ali, making Hasina the primary accused.
The rest of the accused included Hasina’s son and former Information Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy, former ministers Anisul Huq, Qamrul Islam, Obaidul Quader, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former state minister Mohammad Arafat Ali, former Chief Election Commissioners Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, KM Nurul Huda, and Kazi Habibul Awal, former Chief Justice Muzammel Hossain, and former Deputy Attorney General Md. Ashik Ul Haque.
The plaintiff’s lawyer Bari Bhuiyan said the defendants listed as 1 to 7, despite being un-elected, unlawfully held important government positions, including ministerial roles.
Similarly, the defendants 8 to 10 served as unlawful chief election commissioners, while the 11th defendant was a former chief justice and the 12th was a former deputy attorney general.
The lawyer claimed that these accused, through a conspiracy, aimed to destroy the state structure of Bangladesh.
He alleged that in 2012, Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad was appointed chief election commissioner and oversaw the controversial and voter-less 10th National Parliamentary Election on January 5, 2014, under Hasina’s direction.
Nurul Huda, appointed in February 2017, conducted the controversial 11th National Parliamentary Election on December 30, 2018, also alleged to be fraudulent.
Similarly, Kazi Habibul Awal, appointed on February 26, 2022, organised the 12th National Parliamentary Election on January 7, 2024, without voters, continuing the alleged election manipulation.
According to the complainant, the accused bypassed their constitutional duties, contributing to the destruction of Bangladesh’s sovereignty and democracy through vote rigging and corruption.
These actions amount to treason, as they led to the collapse of democratic practices and violated the public’s right to vote, reads it.