Pro-BNP lawyers have scuffled with Awami League-allied lawyers at the Supreme Court premises in the capital over the verdict of BNP chief Khaleda Zia in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.
The scuffle took place on Wednesday after pro-BNP lawyers boycotted the court to protest the doubling of a jail term for Khaleda Zia by the High Court in the graft case.
The Appellate Division continued its daily activities. The appellate bench of seven judges headed by the chief justice started regular court proceedings at 9:00am, reports bdnews24.
The lawyers, including the attorney general, were present at the time.
After the Appellate Division started its daily work, BNP activists locked a Supreme Court gate on the second floor of the building as part of their protests.
During the protests, Supreme Court Bar Association President Zainul Abedin claimed that the general lawyers voluntarily joined the court-boycott.
“They locked the gate,” said Zainul Abedin, a BNP leader.
“The government is controlling trial courts and is now trying to influence the higher court as well. If the government’s intervention in the judiciary does not stop, we will expand the boycott nationwide.”
“The verdict on Khaleda Zia has been handed down at gunpoint.”
After the Appellate Division started its daily work, BNP-backed lawyers locked a Supreme Court gate on the second floor of the building as part of their protests.
Supreme Court Bar Association President Zainul Abedin has claimed that the general lawyers voluntarily joined the court-boycott.
“They locked the gate,” said Zainul Abedin, a BNP leader.
“The government is controlling trial courts and is now trying to influence the higher court as well. If the government’s intervention in the judiciary does not stop, we will expand the court boycott nationwide.”
“The verdict on Khaleda Zia has been handed down at gunpoint.”
As the protests continued, the Awami League-allied lawyers led by Bar Council Vice-Chairman Muhammad Yusuf Hussain Humayun went to the second floor of the court building to break the gate open around 10:30am.
As tensions spread, the warring lawyers ended up in fistfights.
“The Supreme Court Bar Association has turned into a political platform. If you want to challenge the verdict, you will have to do it through the legal means. The decision to boycott the court is not a decision by the lawyers’ association. Khaleda Zia's lawyers may boycott the court, but they should not force other lawyers to participate in the protests by locking the gate.”
“We must break the lock open.”