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Published : 08 Jun 2017, 08:45 PM
Abdul Baset Majumder, vice-chairman of Bangladesh Bar Council, attempted an explanation at a media briefing in Dhaka on Thursday, after the incident grabbed attention from reporters.
While he admitted to his role in releasing the suspect, he blamed the media for distortion, at the briefing at the office of the Supreme Court Law Reporters Forum.
An advisory council member of the ruling Awami League, Majumder was detained in court by Justice Md Miftah Uddin Choudhury and Justice ANM Bashir Ullah on Tuesday.
The judges ordered Majumder to immediately bring back suspect Abdul Kuddus, an Awami League leader from Chittagong who failed to secure bail in an attempted murder case.
The lawyer had earlier intervened when police were preparing to take Kuddus away to jail.
After getting them to release the suspect, Majumder asked Kuddus to leave the court premises but was himself soon called in by the judges.
Majumder then spent half an hour in court, listening to the judges as they chided him, until Kuddus was returned to police custody.
“It seems that I’ve been having trouble hearing words for the past few days. So when I got out of the courtroom and I told police the court may have forgiven the matter.”
Reading out a written statement, Majumder said: “I’ve never faced anything like this in my 50 years as a lawyer. I strongly protest the media’s distorted reportage of what happened.”
His statement did not mention names but Majumder, speaking to court correspondents, named bdnews24.com, Daily Jugantor and Daily Samakal.
“A junior lawyer Rezaul Karim kept pushing me to do the bail hearing and in the end I listened. The suspect was charged with Section 326 and 307.”
“Honourable Justice Md Miftah Uddin Choudhury and Justice ANM Bashir Ullah said the crime was too severe and he can’t get anticipatory bail, and they asked the police to take him to prison.”
“Then I pleaded the judges to forgive my client because it was Ramadan, the month of fasting. There was some more talk after this. At one point, it seemed to me that the court forgave him (Kuddus).”
He reported that to the police and went away to another courtroom, he said.
“Then I got the news about being summoned to court. When I went, the judges said: ‘I didn’t release him. Why did you ask him to be released?’ I said maybe I couldn’t hear them.”
“The judges then asked me to bring that junior lawyer. So I called him and he was ordered to bring back the client. The junior then brought back the client and the honourable court sent him to jail.”
He did not say which part of media reports was distorted but said he was hurt by them.
