The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

President Prof Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday pardoned 14 students of Dhaka and Rajshahi Universities and a former RU vice-chancellor's driver convicted by courts in cases in connection with last August's campus unrest breaking the Emergency Powers Rules.

On the other hand, a court in Dhaka yesterday acquitted four teachers and 11 students (including three female students) of Dhaka University in connection with a case linked to the violent anti-emergency protests last year, but jailed four students in absentia for two years each. The acquitted teachers and student are likely to be released today as the government withdrew cases against them yesterday. They are likely to return to campus today.

General students of Dhaka University rejected the court verdict against four absconding students, terming the judgement as "farcical."

Receiving the copy of the order of President's mercy, the Rajshahi Central Jail authorities released 10 students and an employee of Rajshahi University yesterday evening.

The government yesterday withdrew two criminal cases fully, one partly in connection with breaking emergency rules.

Issuing two separate circulars the Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday stated that, "in exercise of his powers under Article 49 of the constitution, the President exonerated all the 15 convicts from the prison sentences and fines. Among the pardoned students, four are from Dhaka University and 10 of Rajshahi University. The DU students are Hasan Mamun, president of the Dhaka University unit of pro-BNP Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), Saiful Islam Firoz, secretary of the DU unit of JCD, Kamrul Islam Kochi, joint secretary of F Rahman Hall unit of JCD, and Aziz Hasan, former office secretary of F Rahman Hall of Chhatra Union.

The four student leaders were granted presidential mercy suo moto shortly after they were sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Tk 1,000 each in absentia yesterday morning in a case filed with Shahbagh Police Station on August 23, 2007.

In the same cases of violation of the emergency rules, their four teachers were acquitted.

The 10 Rajshahi University students pardoned at the same time are Dipayan Sarker Dip, Mizanur Rahman Mithu, Sarder Ayaz, Fakrul Islam Raihan, Ayen Uddin, Abu Sayeem, Shamim Ahmed, Kazi Abdul Latif, Sakhawat Hossain and Aziz bin Kamal. The exonerated driver is Ataur Rahman Ata.

They were sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 5,000 on December 12, 2007 in a case filed with Motihar police station in Rajshahi city on August 23, 2007 for burning an intelligence agency car on the RU campus. The vehicle was torched amid campus rioting in a sequel to the August 22, 2007 incident of beating a student by some army troops at Dhaka University.

According to the separate notifications, "directive has been given to the authority to release the individuals if it is not necessary to detain them for any other reasons."

Earlier in the morning, a court in Dhaka acquitted four Dhaka University teachers and 11 students, including three female students of the charges of violating Emergency Power Rules by instigating students to engage in violent protests on the university campus in August last year.

The court, however, convicted four absconding students and sentenced them to two years' imprisonment in the same case filed with Shahbagh Police Station on August 23.

Judge Md Habibur Rahman Siddiqui of the Dhaka Metropolitan and Speedy Trial Court, handed down the verdict in his crowded court. The judge also fined each of the convicted students Tk 1,000, in default, to suffer one month more in jail.

The four acquitted teachers are Dhaka University Teachers' Association President Prof Sadrul Amin, General Secretary Prof Anwar Hossain, Social Sciences Faculty Dean Prof Harun-or-Rashid and Applied Physics and Electronics department chairman Prof Neem Chandra Bhowmick.

However, they will remain behind bars, pending verdict in another case filed with the city's Shahbagh Police Station for "attacking Nilkhet Police Outpost' defying emergency rules.

The verdict will be pronounced at 11:00am today. Judge Golam Rabbani of Speedy Trial Tribunal fixed the time-table of pronouncement of the verdict yesterday after completion of the arguments at about 3:00pm that started at 12:00 noon. Depositions of 16, out of 29 witnesses of the case were recorded.

The case (No. 54/07) was filed with Shahbagh Police Station on August 21, 2007 for bringing out procession, holding rallies, ransacking vehicles, obstructing police and chanting anti-government slogans breaking the Emergency Powers Rules 2007. Sub-Inspector Rezaul Karim filed the case, while the investigating officer of the case is SI Babul Bhuiyan.

On the other hand, 11 acquitted DU students were Moniruzzaman Sarkar, Rifat Hossain Jitu, Nazrul Islam, Shamsul Kabir, Mitul, Mohammad Rokonuzzaman, Anwar Hossain, Md Quamruzzaman, Aparna Pal, Shahinur Nargis and Tanjil Chowdhury. Of the acquitted students, 10 are absconding.

The four absconding students who were awarded two years of rigorous imprisonment are Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) DU unit president Hasan Al Mamun, general secretary Saiful Islam Feroz, activist Kamrul Islam Kochi and Azizul Hasan.

During the pronouncement of the verdict, four teachers and a student were present in the courtroom.

On August 20, a violent student protest broke out on the Dhaka University campus following a brawl between an army man and a student during a soccer match at the university's playground.

The protest later spread to other educational institutions in the city and elsewhere across the country, and continued for a few days, resulting in imposition of curfew and shutting down of all educational institutions in major cities.

Defence lawyers present at the court were Syed Rezaur Rahman, Masud Ahmed Talukder, Abdul Mannan, Shafiul Bashar Maizbhandari, Moslehuddin Jasim and Omar Faruque Faruqui, while additional public prosecutors Magfur Rahman Shaikh and Md Kabir Hossain were present.

On the other hand, the government yesterday decided to withdraw two criminal cases fully and one partly in connection with violation of the Emergency Power Rules in a backlash against last the August 20 Dhaka University incident.

Home Ministry yesterday officially disclosed the latest government gesture to calm the unrest prevailing in the universities surrounding release of the detained teachers and students.

The Home Ministry issued three separate orders in connection with the cases filed in Dhaka and Rajshahi.

The cases withdrawn are Shahbagh Police Station's DMP Case No. 60

dated August 24, 2007 and Motihar Police Station-registered Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Case No.10 dated August 22, 2007.

About the under-trial case of Shahbagh Police Station, No.51 and dated August 23, 2007, the Home Ministry said names of 18 out of 25 accused have been withdrawn.

Those discharged are Md Liton Mahmud, Manabendra Deb, Md Ibrahim, KM Mahbul Alam, Shyamal, Md Enamul Haque, Md Gulam Azam Sajen, Siddiqi Najmul Alam, Kamruzzaman, Md Sohel Rana Tipu, Md Abdul Karim alias Tehari Karim, Arifuzzaman, Md Delwar Rahman Dipu, Mizanur Rahman, Md Rashedul Mamud Russel and Md Sarwar Alam.

Meanwhile, general students of Dhaka University demonstrated in the campus yesterday, rejecting the court verdict that sentenced four absconding students to two years imprisonment in a case for violating Emergency Powers Rules in August last year.

They demanded acquittal of the four convicted students and also withdrawal of other cases filed against the students and teachers in connection with the August unrest in the DU campus.

Soon after the news of the verdict reached the campus in the morning, the students of the DU under the banner of `Students against Repression' brought out a procession rejecting the court verdict. They chanted slogans terming the verdict as a farce.

Later, the students announced a two-day protest programme to press home their demands. The programme includes demonstration at the foot of Aparajeyo Bangla and rally on the Arts Building premises today (Tuesday) and forming human chain and a one-hour class boycott at all educational institutions in the country on Wednesday to press the release of detainees.

DU teachers also observed three-hour token hunger strike at Aparajeyo Bangla from 10:00am to 1:00pm today demanding immediate release of their colleagues and students and withdrawal of the cases filed against them. Students also expressed solidarity with the teachers' programme.

Our Rajshahi Correspondent reports: The 10 Rajshahi University students and the driver of a former RU vice-chancellor convicted of torching a DGFI vehicle during the last August violence were all released from the jail yesterday evening on presidential mercy.

They were set free at about 6:00pm, immediate after receipt of the notification on the exoneration.

The convicts were driver of a former RU Vice-chancellor Ataur Rahman Ata and RU Chhatra League secretary Ayenuddin, Dipayan Sarker, Hafiz Uddin Kamal, Shakhawat Hossain, Kazi Abdul Latif, Shamim Ahmed, Abu Sayem, Fakrul Islam, Sarker Ayej and Mizanur Rahman Mithu.

On August 22, 2007, a vehicle of the military intelligence outfit DGFI was torched in front of the Vice-chancellor's residence amid violence on the RU campus following Dhaka University's August 20 student unrest.

DGFI assistant director Shawkat Ali filed the case against 14 persons with Motihar police station on August 23.

The plaintiff alleged that a group of unruly students and people assaulted him while he was on duty on the campus on August 22.

Later, on September 1, the investigation officer (IO), sub-inspector Mukhtar Hossain, pressed charges against the 14 suspects.

A court here on December 12 acquitted two Rajshahi University teachers and its one PR officer of the charge of torching the vehicle but handed down three years rigorous imprisonment to 11 other accused persons, 10 of them students.

Dr Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan Sajal and Dr Golam Sabbir Sattar Tapu, both teachers of Geology and Mining Department, and Deputy Chief

Information Officer of RU Public Relations Office Sadikul Islam were exonerated from the charge of the arson attack and violation of the emergency rules.

Of the convicts, only driver Ata was in the dock to receive the prison sentence pronounced by the speedy trial court. The rest surrendered to the court on January 7.

Earlier, four teachers of the university were jailed for two years on December 4 in connection with the violence, which flared up in a backlash against the Dhaka University incident and clashes.

But they were released on December 10 after President Professor Dr Iajuddin Ahmed approved their mercy petition, amid strong pleas from different quarters, including teachers and students, for setting them free.