ICT prosecutors file contempt of court plea against BNP leader Fazlur

Prosecutors say the senior lawyer made remarks during a TV talk show that undermined the authority of the International Crimes Tribunal

Prosecutors at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) have filed a contempt of court petition against senior lawyer and BNP Chairperson’s Advisor Fazlur Rahman, accusing him of making disparaging remarks about the tribunal during a television talk show.

A hearing on the petition was held on Wednesday before the single-judge Tribunal-1 bench of retired district and sessions judge Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury, according to prosecutor Gazi Monowar Hossain Tamim.

With the tribunal’s chairman and first member absent, the second member set Nov 30 for further proceedings.

Prosecutors Tamim and Mizanul Islam presented the petition in court.

Mizanul told the tribunal that Fazlur had questioned the legitimacy of the ICT during a talk show on a private television channel, claiming he did not accept its verdicts and alleging that the prosecution was acting “in collusion with a third party”.

The prosecutor contended that such comments amounted to contempt of court.

He noted that if found guilty, Fazlur could face up to a year in prison, a fine of Tk 5,000, or both.

Fazlur, an advocate of the Supreme Court and a member of the BNP chairperson’s advisory council, was suspended from all party positions for three months on Aug 26 over what the BNP called “controversial” remarks about the July Uprising.

Despite the suspension, his name appeared on the list of the BNP's parliamentary election candidates announced on Nov 3, when the party nominated him for the Kishoreganj-4 constituency.

Fazlur joined the BNP around 2007 after leaving the Awami League and later served almost eight years as president of the party's Kishoreganj district unit. He has twice contested parliamentary elections from Kishoreganj-4, standing against former president Abdul Hamid.