Acting Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Maulana ATM Masum has issued the following statement on 16th October, 2017 expressing deep concern as the government is making ill effort to create interference on judiciary.

“The government is trying to establish its absolute control on the judiciary which would push the nation towards deep crisis. The government, in a planned way, has staged a drama centring the chief justice which is unprecedented in the history of judiciary in Bangladesh. At the beginning the government sources had claimed that the chief justice is sick and this is why he has sought leave of absence. Prior to his departure for Australia, he has stated in a written letter that, “I am not sick, I am completely well. I am a bit worried about the independence of the judiciary and I am also embarrassed as the Prime Minister and her cabinet colleagues have repeatedly criticised me.”

Immediate after the departure of the Chief Justice, some 11 allegations have brought up against him in the mass media. Reasonably question raised in public mind, if the chief justice was really involved with such allegations of money embezzlement, corruption and immoral activities then why he was allowed to leave the country?

The comments of the law minister and the attorney general which came after the departure of the chief justice clearly proved that the government is reluctant to let this person to discharge duties as the chief justice of Bangladesh. Earlier, centring the 16th amendment verdict, the government’s high ups delivered several aggressive statements which also substantiated that if a judge fails to deliver verdict as per the desire of the government, then he would not be allowed to stay in his office. Government’s such conspiracy with the judiciary cannot be supported by any means.

I am urging the countrymen to launch broad base unity and resistance against these heinous conspiracies of the government.