BNP plans legal move against ban on publishing Tarique remarks in the media

The BNP has said it will move the court against a ban on publishing Tarique Rahman’s comments in the media, said the party's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

He claimed that the Interpol has withdrawn its arrest warrant against the party’s senior vice chairman.

Despite several arrest warrants in a number of cases, Tarique has been living in London for about eight years now. He made some controversial remarks about Bangladesh’s struggle for independence and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2014.

Following a petition, the High Court in January last year slapped a ban on publishing and broadcasting his statements in any media.

At a press conference on Sunday, Fakhrul said, “We earlier took legal measures (against the ban) but those did not work. Now after the Interpol’s move, we will take fresh legal step so that his statements can be published in the media.”

The Interpol has ‘not found truth’ in the information sent to it by Bangladesh police about Tarique Rahman, he claimed.

“The Interpol withdrew its red notice after it found that the information provided by the Bangladesh government had no truth in them and that the matter was politically motivated.

“At the same time, the Interpol Headquarters has overlooked the information provided by the Bangladesh government.”

“On Mar 14, the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files at the Interpol Headquarters in France informed the Londonium Solicitors, a famous legal firm in London, about the withdrawal of it red notice,” Fakhrul went on to claim.

It also has erased all the data provide by Bangladesh from its servers and databases, he said.

The BNP leader also urged the government not to ‘harass’ Tarique, ‘an innocent and popular politician’, by accusing him of ‘false charges’.

The elder son of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was ‘framed’ in the Aug 21 grenade attack case with political motivations, he said.

“Then the Bangladesh government projected him as a fugitive and sent false and misleading information to the Interpol about Tarique Rahman.”

Following this, the Interpol on Apr 14 last year issued the Red Notice against Tarique Rahman.

The Londonium Solicitors then appealed against to the Interpol Headquarters against this, Fakhrul said.

Criticising the government, he said: “The government have proved it lied to tarnish Tarique’s image. And at the same time, the credibility of Bangladesh Police has come under question.”

Asked when Tarique may return home, Fakhrul said, “That depends on his health.

“There is no political issue here … He will return home whenever his doctors say he is fit.”

Senior BNP leaders Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf, Abdullah Al Noman, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Selima Rahman and Shamsuzzaman Dudu were present at the press conference.