Allegations of representing Jamaat-e-Islam untrue, says British lawyer Lord Carlile

Lord Alex Carlile, the British legal expert BNP hired to advise the party chief’s legal team, says allegations against him of representing the Jamaat-e-Islami or lobbying for it are ‘untrue’.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 23 March 2018, 10:45 AM
Updated : 23 March 2018, 10:45 AM

On Tuesday, the BNP announced that Carlile will advise Khaleda Zia’s counsels and provide necessary legal aid.

Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also said they wanted to draw the international community’s attention to the case against Khaleda, besides legal advice from Carlile, who is a member of the House of Lords.

The appointment of Carlile, who had criticised Bangladesh’s judicial system for awarding death penalty to Jamaat leaders for 1971 war crimes, drew sharp reactions from the leaders of the ruling Awami League.

Senior leader and Cabinet member Mohammed Nasim viewed the BNP’s move as a strategy to ‘become friendlier’ with its old ally Jamaat.

“What makes us angry is the fact Lord Carlile is not only a lawyer but also a member in the House of Lords in Britain, the house that condemned the genocide in 1971; the British government, its people, even the British media condemned it,” he said.

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Lord Carlile has ‘misused his office’ as a representative of British people to provide legal help to Jamaat and now doing the same for Khaleda, according to Nasim, also the health minister.

The remarks are ‘defamatory’, Lord Carlile said in a statement on Friday, without mentioning Nasim.

“My engagement with Begum Zia's team of lawyers team is a professional one and giving her legal advice does not in anyway contradict my position as a member of the House of Lords,” it reads.

On his comments over the war crimes trial, Carlile said that as an international lawyer, he made those observations about the procedures of the tribunal in relation to international standards.

“The allegation made against me, and that I acted as a lawyer and lobbyist of Jamaat-e-Islam is untrue and would be subject to libel action,” Carlile said.

Urging “everyone” not to make statements that interfere with Khaleda’s case in future, Carlile said he will have no option other than taking legal action.