Untold Facts

Interpol does not have any jurisdiction

Failed earlier
After failing in earlier attempts during Sheikh Hasina’s first term of Prime Minister (1996-2001) her Home Minister has once again is known to have put all her energy through the Home Ministry to seek assistance of the Interpol in bringing back to Bangladesh for trial of the 15th August 1975 case accused from abroad. Could the Interpol do anything in the matter?

Interpol Constitution
The Article 3 of the Interpol Constitution states, ‘It is strictly forbidden for the organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character’.

No ambiguity
There is not even the slightest ambiguity in the article in regard to the issues the Interpol could intervene or interfere into.

Automatic Indemnity
If one would look into any reliably authentic documents of international standing, not in loose rhetoric of some gullible folks, the 15th August 1975 incident of political acts and change of the Government of Bangladesh had been due to a successful military coup. That meant clearly that the matter was both political and military. Not only that. The successful army coup was automatically indemnified, and in no way indictable for any cognizable offence in law, the maxim of law in this regard being FACTUM VALET, that in English language means, coup is crime if it fails, and not anything indictable offence if that succeeds. Further that all reliable authentic international documents (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia-Microsoft Internet Explorer website documented Bangladesh August 15 1975 being the successful coup) have duly listed the 15th August 1975 army coup as the successful one, not a failed one. If that failed, the coup operators would then and then face trial not in any civilian court but in the army court martial.

Vengeance
Well, after 21 years of the occurrence of the incident a ‘murder’ case was lodged in late 1996 clearly in vengeance (See, BBC’s former and retired journalist Serajur Rahman’s article published in the Bengali daily Naya Diganta, Dhaka, on the 24th March 2009) of for ‘killing’ of Hasina’s father not obtaining due clearance of all relevant laws but by dubious means. One such dubious means was that she did not seek for army court martial for the coup operators had all been serving army men. The second one was that she rescinded the Indemnity Act of 26th September 1975 (though superfluous) that formed part of the still now existing 5th Amendment of the Constitution that needed two third majorities that she did not have in the parliament but instead taking recourse aggressively to the simple majority that violated the Constitution. Third, she went for the case giving retrospective effect of the cancellation of the Indemnity that was void in legal jurisprudence.

Misuse of power and Miscarriage of Justice
The worst side of the case was that she did everything possible from the position of the Prime Minister to hoodwink the due process of law beginning from appointment of the session judge of her own choosing, viciously driven the due process to have a verdict for 15 to be hanged amazingly in ‘FIRING SQUAD’, no where permissible in civil/ criminal procedure of Bangladesh. Further up when the verdict went to the High Court for confirmation of death reference, her Home Minister Nasim did not only openly intimidate the judges but also led a procession wielding sticks in the city of Dhaka towards the High Court Campus for psychologically containing the judges considering the case to have verdict of Hasina’s liking or in her Bengali verbatim ‘PITRIHOTYAR PROTISHODH’ (I am in politics just only to take revenge of my father’s blood) just as she openly stated to the BBC journalist Serajur Rahman referred above.

Appeal hearing
However, when the case has been in hearing since 5th October (09) at the Supreme Court Appeal Division Five Member Bench for the five ‘convicted’ to death sentence in the lower courts and detained in death cell in Dhaka prison for over 13 years now, hopefully miscarriage of justice done would be remedied, six others of eleven (One died already abroad) have been outside, possibly staying abroad as fugitive, the rhetoric by the Home Minister to get back the six fugitives to Bangladesh by the Interpol should be amazing. Because the Interpol has no jurisdiction to do anything for any one of them as they were involved in successful political acts in the coup d’ ‘etat and themselves had been military men that Article 3 of the Interpol Constitution forbids.

Author: Dr. M.T. M.T. Hussain