MP Haji Salim, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a graft case, is headed to the Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-7 to turn himself in and request bail. Awami League activists have crowded the area.
The MP is to arrive at the court at 2:00pm
Local Awami League activists began gathering near the courthouse around noon on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.
Fazlul Kabir Chowdhury Shipar, a party activist from Lalbag, said he does not believe Haji Salim got a fair trial.
“He has long been a hard-working leader in the Awami League,” the activist said. “That is why I came to support him.”
Most of the 100 or so other activists at the scene shared the same sentiment.
The MP from the Dhaka-7 constituency was ordered by a High Court bench to turn himself in after it upheld his guilty verdict in a case of hiding information about his wealth in 2008. However, the High Court reduced his prison term from 13 years to 10 years.
The Anti-Corruption Commission, or ACC, filed the case against Salim in 2007, when a military-backed caretaker government was running the country.
The High Court’s instruction was for him to surrender before a trial court within a month after the formal order reaches the trial court.
According to the MP’s counsel, Pran Nath Debnath, the trial court received a copy of the order on Apr 25, which means Salim has until May 24 to surrender.
Salim recently caused serious controversy after leaving the country on Apr 30.
At the time, an aide to the lawmaker said Salim left for Bangkok for medical treatment and would return shortly. Selim did return on May 5.
However, the controversy did not end there. Parallels were drawn with the situation faced by BNP chief Khaleda Zia and there was significant debate about the legality of the government allowing the counsel MP to fly abroad.
An ACC lawyer overseeing the case concurred.
Khurshid Alam Khan, the ACC counsel, said Haji Selim did not have any “legal option” to travel abroad as a convict.
BNP chief Khaleda Zia, who was convicted in another graft case, had been denied repeated requests by her family to take her abroad for advanced medical treatment. The three-time prime minister has been suffering from multiple health complications, according to her doctors.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, however, did not agree with the ACC’s legal opinion, saying Salim’s trip abroad was legal.
“As far as the legal question is concerned, his trip came before the High Court decision,” he said during a recent briefing.
“He is a member of parliament. He respects the law. His trip abroad was in line with the law.”
Asked whether a convict could make such a trip, the home minister said: “You know that when the High Court delivers its verdict, there is an official written version. The verdict was announced, but it has not been officially implemented. He left and returned before it was implemented.”
Salim has been at the risk of losing his membership in parliament since the High Court confirmed his 10-year jail term in March 2021.
The parliament has not yet made a decision about his membership.
