SC upholds bail for SQ Chowdhury's counsel

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a High Court order that granted bail to AKM Fakhrul Islam, a lawyer for executed war criminal , in a case filed for leaking the draft of Salauddin's verdict a day before a tribunal delivered it.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, passed the order rejecting a petition filed by the government seeking a stay on the HC order, said Mahbub Uddin Khokon, a lawyer of Fakhrul.

Earlier, on 4 April, the HC granted bail to Fakhrul for one year in the case.

On 15 September 2016, Bangladesh Cyber Tribunal sentenced Fakhrul to 10-year imprisonment and fined him Tk 1 million for his involvement in having the draft verdict leaked.

The court had sentenced Chowdhury's manager KM Mahbubul Hasan, junior lawyer Mehedi Hasan, International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) staff Faruk Hossain and Nayan Ali to seven years' imprisonment and fined them Tk 10,000.

AKM Nasiruddin Mahmud, the then Registrar of the ICT, filed a general diary with Shahbagh police station on 2 October 2013, over the leaking of part of the draft verdict.

On 4 October 2013, DB inspector Fazlur Rahman filed a case with the same police station in this regard.

It was disclosed later that Salauddin's personal staff and his lawyers leaked part of the draft verdict by bribing two tribunal staff.

On 28 August 2014, DB filed a chargesheet against seven, including Salauddin's wife Farhat and son Hummam.

The Cyber Tribunal, however, acquitted Salauddin's wife Farhat Quader Chowdhury and son Hummam Quader Chowdhury.

Source: UNB