Govt to tackle terror strictly

The government will form separate "anti-terrorism special tribunals" in all districts within 10 days to deal with cases filed against acts of violence and terrorism committed during hartals and blockade, Law Minister Anisul Huq said yesterday.

The tribunals will be formed under the Anti Terrorism Act 2009, under which the highest punishment is death penalty, and they will deal with cases which have been filed only under this act, said the minister.

The minister said this while talking to The Daily Star after holding a meeting with a 12-member delegation of the European Parliament led by Christian Dan Preda, vice-president of its human rights sub-committee, at his office yesterday afternoon.

He said an additional district and session judge would hold the trial of such cases on priority basis until the tribunals were established.

"I have already sent a letter to all the district judges across the country to assign an additional district and session judge to deal with the cases relating to violence and terrorism until the anti-terrorism special tribunals are established," the law minister said. 

According to some lawyers, however, such cases are very small in number.

The Anti Terrorism Act 2009 says, "The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute one or more Anti-terrorism Special Tribunals for speedy and effective trial of the offences committed under this Act".

The minister said the delegation of the European Parliament wanted to know about the human rights situation of the country, a follow-up of victims of Rana Plaza disaster and also about the government's plan to appoint an ombudsman.

"I have told them that human rights and the rule of law are protected in the country and the families of all the victims of Rana Plaza collapse have been given financial and other helps by the government," he said, adding that the government also has a plan to appoint an ombudsman.  

The minister, however, could not say anything about the number of cases filed under the Anti Terrorism Act 2009 and about the present status of investigation into those cases.

He said the cases relating to political violence were filed under the Special Powers Act 1974, the Explosive Substances Act 1908, the Penal Code and the Anti Terrorism Act 2009.

Some lawyers dealing with such cases against high-profile BNP leaders told The Daily Star that very few cases of political violence had been filed under the Anti Terrorism Act 2009.

Most of the cases have rather been filed under the Special Powers Act 1974, the Explosive Substances Act 1908 and the Penal Code. Many of these cases have been filed in 2013 since when political violence started, advocate Sagir Hossain Leon told this correspondent.

He said he was dealing with cases against around one hundred BNP leaders including its acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. But he saw only one case that was filed against Fakhrul and some others under the Anti Terrorism Act 2009 after police had been attacked at Bangla Motor in the capital in 2013.

He also said the anti-terrorism special tribunals would not get sufficient cases or trial if they were established.