The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bangladesh

  • Court gives Govt 48 hours to stop hydraulic horns in vehicles

    Court gives Govt 48 hours to stop hydraulic horns in vehicles

    A High Court Division bench in Bangladesh has given the government 48 hours to stop the use of hydraulic horns in vehicles.

    The High Court division bench of Justice Quzi-Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Mohammad Ullah, on Wednesday passed the order, asking relevant government authorities to seize all the vehicles with the horn after Aug. 27.

    The court passed the order on a petition filed by a local rights organisation, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.

    The organisation filed the public interest litigation challenging the legality of hydraulic horn use and seeking necessary orders to stop sound pollution especially in Dhaka.

    Dhaka has become one of the most hazardous cities in the country, with noise pollution going beyond acceptable limits.

    Level of sound pollution in Dhaka is now reportedly a major concern for the general public because it has already exceeded the tolerance level.

    A survey report prepared by the country’s Department of Environment (DoE) showed the decibel level in some Dhaka areas has exceeded the permissible limits of 45/60 to 130 decibel.

    The survey, conducted between April to June 2016 by the DoE-appointed consultants from Working for Better Bangladesh (WBB) an NGO, also found the situation deteriorating not only in Dhaka, but also in Bangladesh’s second largest seaport city Chittagong, some 242 km southeast of Dhaka.

    Because of sound pollution millions of people especially in Dhaka are now exposed to a number of health risks from deafness to heart attack.

    On Dhaka streets, noise pollution is seemingly created by hydraulic horns of buses, trucks and taxis, microphones and cassette players.

    In a bid to curb noise pollution, police in Dhaka last week destroyed around 10,000 illegal hydraulic horns which they seized over the last couple of months.

  • Bangladesh removes statue of Lady Justice from Supreme Court

    Bangladesh removes statue of Lady Justice from Supreme Court

    Officials said a statue of Lady Justice installed at the Bangladesh’s Supreme Court in Dhaka in 2016 was removed on Friday after radical Islamists demanded its destruction.

    Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told local media that the sculpture had been removed on the recommendation of senior jurists to avert an “untoward situation.”

    “It may be relocated to a museum nearby the Supreme Court,” he said.

    Hard-line Islamists said that the statue, a blindfolded woman in a sari holding scales and a sword in her hands, is an idol, which is prohibited in Islam.

    Since its installation in December 2016, thousands have turned out at demonstrations to demand its removal or destruction as well as that of similar artworks across the country.

    Television footage on Friday showed sculptor Mrinal Haque overseeing a group of workers hammering at the base of the statue in the middle of the night.

    “I made it, now I have been forced to remove it.

    “I’ve come to ensure that the sculpture is not damaged during removal,” Haque said.

    The statue represents the Roman goddess Iustitia and the Greek goddess Themis.

    Bangladesh has a secular constitution based on British common law, but radical Islamic groups have long campaigned for the introduction of strict Islamic law, or sharia.

    More than 90 per cent of Bangladesh’s 160 million inhabitants identify as Muslim.

    Activists of left-leaning student organisations clashed with police as the lawmen prevented a protest march towards the Supreme Court premises to demand the reinstallation of the justice statue.

    Police fired tear gas and water canon to disperse the demonstration of more than 100 activists on Dhaka University campus.

    Four people were arrested as they were trying to break through the security barricade at the court premises, officer Maruf Sarder said.

    Samajtantrik Chhatra Front (Socialist Student Front), a left-wing student organisation, has announced protest at all educational institutions across Bangladesh for Saturday.

  • Bangladesh arrests 28 men on homosexuality suspicion

    Bangladesh arrests 28 men on homosexuality suspicion

    Police on Friday said 28 men have been arrested on suspicion of homosexuality in Bangladesh as gay sex is an offence in the Muslim-majority country.

    The Rapid Action Battalion unit of the police force picked up the men, aged between 20 and 25, from a community centre in Dhaka’s Keraniganj neighbourhood,’’ battalion commander, Jahangir Matubbor, said.

    “We have arrested them after locals complained that the young men use the community centre as a hang-out.

    “Officers found drugs, condoms and lubricants when they raided the place,’’ Matubbor said, adding that most of the detainees were students.

    He said that they were initially faced with drug charges.

    Homosexuality was criminalised in Bangladesh under a British colonial era law and could be punished with life in prison.

    The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has long faced discrimination and rights abuses in the country.

    Meanwhile, two LGBT activists were hacked to death in 2016 by suspected Islamist militants in Dhaka.

  • Bangladesh arrests 28 men on homosexuality suspicion

    Police on Friday said 28 men have been arrested on suspicion of homosexuality in Bangladesh as gay sex is an offence in the Muslim-majority country.

    The Rapid Action Battalion unit of the police force picked up the men, aged between 20 and 25, from a community centre in Dhaka’s Keraniganj neighbourhood,’’ battalion commander, Jahangir Matubbor, said.

    “We have arrested them after locals complained that the young men use the community centre as a hang-out.

    “Officers found drugs, condoms and lubricants when they raided the place,’’ Matubbor said, adding that most of the detainees were students.

    He said that they were initially faced with drug charges.

    Homosexuality was criminalised in Bangladesh under a British colonial era law and could be punished with life in prison.

    The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has long faced discrimination and rights abuses in the country.

    Meanwhile, two LGBT activists were hacked to death in 2016 by suspected Islamist militants in Dhaka

     

  • Osinbajo renews call for int’l collaboration against terrorism

    Osinbajo renews call for int’l collaboration against terrorism

    …Receives Bangladeshi Army Chief


    
 
    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday renewed call for international collaboration towards checking the menace of terrorism.

    According to him, Nigeria will continue to cooperate in the global fight against terrorism.

    Osinbajo spoke at the State House while receiving the Bangladeshi Chief of Army Staff, General Abu Belal Muhammad.

    He said that the networking among terrorists groups has increased the need for countries to close ranks to counter the threats posed by their activities.

    In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Laolu Akande, he said “We are concerned about terrorism not just within our borders, we have also seen the influence of terrorists across borders and how terrorist organizations have cooperated with each other.

    “We are aware for instance that some within our own borders are cooperating with ISIL and we think that this sorts of evil collaborations must have a response from countries that share similar experiences and can present a credible force against terrorists’’.

    Speaking about the urgency required to tackle the menace, Prof. Osinbajo warned that “terrorism is a major problem and perhaps the most significant problem that the free world will face in the coming years’’.

    On the Nigeria-Bangladesh relations, he said improved cooperation between the Bangladeshi and Nigerian military would go a long way in curbing threats posed by terrorist groups within and around borders of the two countries.

    He said “We have benefitted a lot from some of your experiences in fighting insurgency in Bangladesh and we hope that we benefit even more from those experiences.

    “We have had similar problems with Boko Haram and I know that you have also had problems of some sort with terrorist groups within the borders of Bangladesh.’’ he said
    According to him, Nigeria is looking forward to cooperating with the Bangladeshi government in different sectors including defence and the economy.

    The Vice President hoped for collaboration in some other respect like with the Bangladesh Ordinance Factory, saying “we also have an ordinance factory here at DICON which we are hoping to do a lot with very soon. We hope that there might be ways that we could cooperate especially in the manufacture of ordinances, arms generally and other forms of weaponry.’’

    Speaking earlier, the Bangladeshi Chief of Army Staff, General Abu Belal Muhammad expressed gratitude at the reception accorded to his delegation since arriving Nigeria.
    He said the long standing relations between Nigeria and Bangladesh has helped in the career development of many officers of the armed forces of both countries.

    General Muhammad said that there was however a need to strengthen relations on the defence and economic fronts to tackle challenges that are peculiar to both countries.
    The Bangladeshi Army chief is in Nigeria on a working visit to improve military relations between both countries.
      

       

  • Two sentenced to death for war crimes in Bangladesh

    Two sentenced to death for war crimes in Bangladesh

    A Bangladeshi court on Wednesday sentenced two men to death for crimes committed during the country’s 1971 war of independence with Pakistan, officials said.

    The Special War Crimes Tribunal handed down the penalty to Moslem Prodhan, 66, and Syed Mohammad Hossain, 64, for killings and atrocities carried out on civilians during the nine-month war.

    Prosecution lawyer Tureen Afroz said six charges, including killing of unarmed civilians, were proved beyond doubt against the accused, who were members of an armed militia group linked to the Pakistan army.

    “The death sentence can be executed either by hanging or shooting as the government decides,” Afroz quoted the court’s decision as saying.

    Prodhan is in custody and Hossain is currently on the run.

    Six opposition politicians, mostly from the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party, have been hanged after being convicted of war crimes. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set up the special tribunal in 2010.

    The Head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, Motiur Rahman Nizami, and its top-ranking leaders Abdul Kader Mollah, Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and Mir Quasem Ali, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, were among those executed.

    East Pakistan became Bangladesh after the fighting ended with the surrender of Pakistani forces on Dec. 16, 1971.

    An early attempt to prosecute the suspects was called off following the 1975 assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s founding leader and father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

     

  • Bangladesh praises military on Boko Haram

    Bangladesh praises military on Boko Haram

    The Bangladesh Armed Forces yesterday praised the military for its success in combating insurgency in the country.

    Bangladesh said it would adopt the same strategy in combating insurgency and criminality.

    A team from Bangladesh National Defence College on a geo-strategic study tour to Nigeria visited the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.

    The leader of the delegation, Rear Admiral Anwarul Islam, said the dramatic way in which the Nigerian military routed the deadly Boko Haram in the last one year was worthy of praise.

    He noted that the Nigerian Armed Forces are known for their contributions to peace support operations worldwide.

    Rear Admiral Islam observed that Bangladesh has a lot to learn from the Nigerian, and hailed the CDS for his leadership direction.

    Admiral Islam applauded the Armed Forces for degrading the Boko Haram terrorists in the Northeast and tackling other criminalities.

    He solicited cordial military bilateral relations with Nigeria.

    While welcoming the delegation, the CDS, who was represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans at DHQ, Air Vice Marshal Bashir Saidu, assured the team of the Armed Forces’ readiness to partner the Bangladesh military and to synergise with other willing nations in the global war against terror.

    The team was later briefed on the operational activities of the Multi-National Joint Tasks Forces and Operations LAFIYA DOLE in the Northeast.

     

  • Bangladesh commends Nigerian military for tackling terrorism in Chad Basin

    The Government of Bangladesh has lauded the efforts of the Nigerian military in effectively checking the activities of terrorists in the Lake Chad Basin.

    The Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, stated this in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday

    The statement said the commendation was conveyed by a Bangladesh Defence delegation that visited the Defence Headquarters on Tuesday.

    It said the leader of the Bangladesh delegation on a geo-study tour of Nigeria, Rear Adm. Anwarul Islam, conveyed his country’s commendation for the successes recorded by the Nigerian military.

    It said that Bangladesh expressed willingness to partner Nigeria in replicating its military’s counter-insurgency strategy in addressing her domestic challenges.
    “Bangladesh has lauded the success of the Nigerian military in overcoming insurgency and expressed willingness to adopt the Nigerian Armed Forces winning strategy to combat insurgency and criminalities in their country,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted Brig. Gen. Abubakar as saying in the statement.

  • Former Bangladeshi lawmaker sentenced to death

    Former Bangladeshi lawmaker sentenced to death

    A former Bangladeshi lawmaker was on Wednesday sentenced to death for crimes committed during the country’s 1971 war of liberation from Pakistan, a court official said.

    A prosecution lawyer, Ziad al Malum said that a special tribunal handed down the death penalty to Sakhawat Hossain, a former Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party lawmaker, for the killing, raping and torturing of unarmed civilians during the war.

    He said that the three-member panel of judges also sentenced seven others, six of them in absentia, to life in prison.

    Hossain was a central committee member of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami party which opposed the creation of Bangladesh.

    It aided the Pakistani army to carry out atrocities against civilians in what was then eastern Pakistan and is now Bangladesh.

    Hossain, a local commander in a group that helped Pakistani soldiers in the southwestern district of Jessore, was convicted on five counts of war crimes.

    The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set up the special tribunal in 2010 to prosecute suspected war criminals who collaborated with the Pakistani military.

    An earlier initiative to prosecute war crimes was called off after the assassination of Bangladesh’s founding president Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father, in a military putsch in 1975.

    The tribunal has so far convicted 34 people, including some of Jamaat-e-Islami’s top leaders.

    Twenty-one were sentenced to death, 12 to life in prison and one to 90 years in jail.

    Five have since been executed and three have died in prison.

    Jamaat-e-Islami’s former leader Motiur Rahman Nizami, 73, was executed in May.

    The others were fellow Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Abdul Kader Mollah, Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.

  • Girl to die for killing parents in Bangladesh

    Girl to die for killing parents in Bangladesh

    A Dhaka Court on Thursday sentenced a 20-year-old girl to death for killing her parents two years ago, officials said.

    Judge Sayeed Ahmed handed down the verdict against Oishee Rahman for killing her police officer father Mahfuzur Rahman and mother Swapna Rahman in August 2013, prosecutor Mohammad Rahman said.

    The court also sentenced one of her friends to two years in prison for her role in the murder.

    Investigators said Oishee Rahman served sedative-laced coffee to her parents before stabbing them in their home in Dhaka’s Central Malibagh Area.

    Police recovered the couple’s bodies two days later and their daughter surrendered at the police station the day after that.

    Defence lawyer Faruk Ahmed said his client would challenge the verdict in a higher court.