Khaleda’s British lawyer criticises deportation as India questions his motive

Lord Alexander Carlile, a British MP and international counsel for BNP chief Khaleda Zia, has reacted sharply to his deportation by India while the country has questioned his motive.

In an address to the press via Skype, he alleged India was 'supinely' agreeing to the 'intolerable pressure' of the Sheikh Hasina administration of Bangladesh and called it shameful, Indian newspaper The Tribune reported on Thursday.

"My particular role is to examine the evidence and judgments against her (Khaleda Zia), and to advise and comment as to whether they fall within international and Common Law Rule of Law norms, which are applicable in Bangladesh," said Lord Carlile.

He also alleged that the ruling Awami League had resorted to frivolous cases and torture to keep the Zia family and the BNP out of the upcoming general elections.

About the deportation by India, he said in a statement: "This is no way to treat a 70-year-old senior lawyer and Parliamentarian."

"I am outraged by the political interference in Begum Khaleda Zia's case on political grounds by two governments, and I expect a full explanation from the Indian Government. I have the visa they granted me a few days ago," he said.

New Delhi attributed the decision to deny Lord Carlile entry to an inappropriate visa and questioned his intention behind holding the press briefing in the country instead of the UK.  

"His intended activity in India was incompatible with the purpose of his visit as mentioned in his visa application," the Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in a statement within an hour of deporting Lord Carlile.

Later, Kumar told a weekly media briefing in New Delhi that he suspected there was an attempt by Lord Carlile to "create some kind of a problem" in the relationship between India and Bangladesh and “misunderstanding between India and the BNP”.

"We informed him in advance that his visa is not valid. So he came with a return boarding pass. He had two hours before he was to take the flight. The motivation it seems is that he was trying to create some problem between India and Bangladesh and create misunderstanding between India and the opposition party in Bangladesh," Raveesh Kumar said.

The BNP said it was ‘shocked’ at India’s denial of entry to Lord Carlile.

“We believe this incident is inconsistent with practice of freethinking in India, the largest democracy in the world,” Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said in a statement.   

Lord Carlile chose India as the venue of the press briefing after Bangladesh denied him entry, he claimed.

A high-profile lawyer who held several judicial roles, Lord Carlile was appointed to the BNP leader's legal team in March.

Khaleda has a series of criminal cases filed against her that the BNP claims are part of a plot to keep her and her family out of politics.

She was convicted in the first case in February and sentenced to five years for misappropriating Tk 21 million in foreign donations received by an orphanage trust set up when she was last prime minister, from 2001 to 2006.