The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

A sedition case filed by a freedom fighter against three leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh was dismissed by a court in the city yesterday on the ground that it did not get approval of the government.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Emran Hossain Chowdhury dismissed the sedition case against Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid, assistant secretary general Kader Molla and former Inslami Bank chairman Shah Abdul Hannan.

Dismissing the case, the magistrate said the court had no jurisdiction to take the case into cognizance as it did not get approval of the government.

Fazlur Rahman, a freedom fighter from Keraniganj, filed the case on December 5 against the Jamaat leaders for making disparaging statements about the nation's War of Independence and freedom fighters.

The same court had accepted the case and asked the officer-in-charge of Tejgaon Police Station to record the case. The OC later returned the case to the court, saying they did not get approval from the government to do so.

On December 11, the court set December 18 for a decision about the fate of the case. But the court did not do so and set December 22 for the decision. Again, it reset the date for January 7.

The complainant Fazlur Rahman and his lawyers rejected the court decision yesterday and said they would appeal to the High Court to challenge the order.

They said the officer-in-charge of the Tejgaon Police Station could seek approval of the state in a proper manner, instead of returning the case to the court.

On the other hand, Jamaat leaders are considering the decision of the court as a "great victory" for them.

According to case details, Mojahid on October 25 said in an interview aired on different TV channels that there were no anti-liberation forces or war criminals in the country.

On October 26, Hannan cited the liberation war as a 'civil war' in an interview with a TV channel.

Kader Molla at a discussion on October 31 said the freedom fighters joined the war to protect the interest of India.

He also made other controversial statements about the freedom fighters.