Arrest of 3 SC lawyers for terror-Funding

Politically motivated move, claim relatives

RAB looks for masterminds

Demanding an independent and neutral judicial inquiry, leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and family members of barrister Shakila Farzana said she was a victim of political vendetta on the part of the ruling Awami League (AL).
They alleged the lawyer was targeted as she had provided legal aid to BNP men and dealt with the cases against BNP men arrested on charges of carrying out subversive activities across the country as part of the recent anti-government movement since January 5 this year.
Talking to The Independent over phone yesterday, Syed Wahidul Alam, father of Shakila Farzana, said the allegation of funding a militant outfit that has been levelled against his daughter was “a pure conspiracy”.
“My daughter is a practising lawyer at the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. She was never involved in any politics, neither in Dhaka nor in Chittagong,” said Alam, who is also a BNP leader and former whip.
Asked why she had become a victim of political vendetta, Alam claimed, “My daughter provided legal aid and helped bail out 94 leaders and activists of the BNP in recent times. The allegation of funding a militant group is baseless, as she has never seen a total of Tk. 52 lakh in her whole life. My daughter has become an eyesore of the ruling government due to her professional role.”
The tearful father said, “Nobody will believe the concocted story. My daughter has been a meritorious student throughout her life. In recent times, she was busy pursuing her PhD thesis.”
“My daughter will be proved innocent if an independent judicial probe is conducted,” claimed Alam.
“I am flabbergasted by the allegation levelled against barrister Shakila Farzana. It is absurd that she funded a militant outfit for procuring weapons. I think the truth will come out if a proper judicial inquiry is conducted into the case,” said Dr Shahadat Hossain, general secretary of the Chittagong city unit of the BNP.
“I know barrister Shakila to be a lawyer of repute and the daughter of my political colleague. She used to phone us repeatedly for her dues for conducting cases lodged against party activists,” added Hossain.     
“I think this is part of the ruling party’s repression of the BNP. The allegation of funding a militant organisation is nothing but a stage-managed drama,” claimed Kazi Abdullah Al Hassan, member secretary of the Chittagong North district unit of the BNP.
Meanwhile, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has been looking into the case of financing the newly floated militant group with all seriousness, and was quizzing the arrested lawyers. Lt Col. Miftah Uddin, commanding officer of RAB-7, told The Independent yesterday that they were making inquiries about the possible existence of a third party behind the financing of the militant outfit, ‘Shaheed Hamza Brigade’.
“We are trying to unearth the masterminds behind the militant group. We are also trying to expose the financers who provided the money to the arrested lawyers. A RAB team is investigating the case. We have information that a United Arab Emirates (UAE) national, Allama Libadi, is another financer of the militant group.

Arrest of 3 SC lawyers for terror-Funding

Politically motivated move, claim relatives

RAB looks for masterminds

Demanding an independent and neutral judicial inquiry, leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and family members of barrister Shakila Farzana said she was a victim of political vendetta on the part of the ruling Awami League (AL). They alleged the lawyer was targeted as she had provided legal aid to BNP men and dealt with the cases against BNP men arrested on charges of carrying out subversive activities across the country as part of the recent anti-government movement since January 5 this year. Talking to The Independent over phone yesterday, Syed Wahidul Alam, father of Shakila Farzana, said the allegation of funding a militant outfit that has been levelled against his daughter was a pure conspiracy. My daughter is a practising lawyer at the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. She was never involved in any politics, neither in Dhaka nor in Chittagong, said Alam, who is also a BNP leader and former whip. Asked why she had become a victim of political vendetta, Alam claimed, My daughter provided legal aid and helped bail out 94 leaders and activists of the BNP in recent times. The allegation of funding a militant group is baseless, as she has never seen a total of Tk. 52 lakh in her whole life. My daughter has become an eyesore of the ruling government due to her professional role. The tearful father said, Nobody will believe the concocted story. My daughter has been a meritorious student throughout her life. In recent times, she was busy pursuing her PhD thesis. My daughter will be proved innocent if an independent judicial probe is conducted, claimed Alam. I am flabbergasted by the allegation levelled against barrister Shakila Farzana. It is absurd that she funded a militant outfit for procuring weapons. I think the truth will come out if a proper judicial inquiry is conducted into the case, said Dr Shahadat Hossain, general secretary of the Chittagong city unit of the BNP. I know barrister Shakila to be a lawyer of repute and the daughter of my political colleague. She used to phone us repeatedly for her dues for conducting cases lodged against party activists, added Hossain. I think this is part of the ruling partys repression of the BNP. The allegation of funding a militant organisation is nothing but a stage-managed drama, claimed Kazi Abdullah Al Hassan, member secretary of the Chittagong North district unit of the BNP. Meanwhile, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has been looking into the case of financing the newly floated militant group with all seriousness, and was quizzing the arrested lawyers. Lt Col. Miftah Uddin, commanding officer of RAB-7, told The Independent yesterday that they were making inquiries about the possible existence of a third party behind the financing of the militant outfit, Shaheed Hamza Brigade. We are trying to unearth the masterminds behind the militant group. We are also trying to expose the financers who provided the money to the arrested lawyers. A RAB team is investigating the case. We have information that a United Arab Emirates (UAE) national, Allama Libadi, is another financer of the militant group.