Shoaib’s July 15 court appearance was surprisingly different from what we have experienced for months. With no warning to the defense, the government called three new witnesses. (Their only previous witness remained AWOL). Each testified briefly. The former Assistant Commissioner of Bangladesh’s Special Branch said Shoaib committed a crime by trying to go to Israel. He also said he committed the crime of hurting the "religious sentiments of Muslims by praising Christians and Jews." A non-governmental computer technician testified that the government seized Shoaib's computers but did not say what was found on it. He also got into a protracted discussion with Shoaib’s attorney about whether the items seized were computers, printers, or other peripherals. The Inspector of Police also accused Shoaib of breaking the law by trying to go to Israel. Shoaib’s attorney did get him to admit that Shoaib had no airplane ticket to Israel, however, alleging he was going to Bangkok and Singapore then on to Tel Aviv; an odd route even under Dhaka’s travel ban.
The point is that none of this is new or even compelling. If this is all the government can regurgitate after five and a half years, there cannot be much of a case, at least on the basis of Bangladeshi law. Even the judge seemed to agree, asking the defense to explain exactly what Shoaib is accused of doing, after the day’s lame testimony. (The government seems to have finally given up on the false and easily-disproved allegation of a “Hello Tel Aviv” article since the judge asked for evidence of the allegation.) When Advocate Govinda said that Shoaib's crime was exposing the rise of radical Islam and its use of madrassas, Judge Bashir Ullah--and this might sound familiar--said he should be rewarded for that and not condemned. Shoaib said the Public Prosecutor was smiling at that point.
Whether he was smiling because he knows a guilty verdict will be handed down regardless, because he knows our expectations of vindication will be dashed as were our previous hopes, or because he sees an end to Shoaib’s ordeal crowned with a not guilty verdict; is a matter of speculation. We seem to have gone through this before under previous governments only to be disappointed. But Shoaib believes that the government has decided to finish the trial, he expects as early as August. They could have done so months, even years ago but did not. Perhaps the economic hard times have led them to re-cast their strategy as regards trade. Perhaps they have read recent articles urging the United Nations to bar Bangladesh from peacekeeping missions. Bangladesh provides more UN peacekeepers than any other country except Pakistan, and doing so has become critical for the Bangladeshi economy. It was also one of the underlying reasons for the 2007 coup there. Or maybe it is they, not us, who ultimately tired of it all.
If Shoaib is right, here is what we can expect. Once the government concludes its case, the court will set a date for "argument," or the defense's rebuttal. Once that is concluded, the judge will retire to determine verdicts and set a date when judgement will be read. Today’s events certainly made it seem that the government had despaired of presenting any serious evidence for the charge; a hopeful sign. We must remember, however, that if the real decision is to continuing placating the radicals, the lack of evidence will not factor into Shoaib’s fate. It certainly has not up till now.
Next date: July 22, 2009.
On July 22, the trial picked up where it left off last week. The prosecution called four witnesses to testify, but none of them had anything significant to say. Shoaib did not even find anything that qualified them to testify. They testified that Shoaib "wanted" to travel to Israel and that he communicated with Israelis over the Internet. Are these crimes in Bangladesh? Let's hope not! It would indicate that there is no commitment to basic freedoms in Bangladesh; if that is the case, I am sure the US and the UN would have specific actions that they would feel compelled to take. Shoaib also noted that one of the witnesses said that he hurt the sentiments of Muslims by "criticizing madrassas"--another troubling attack on freedom of expression. And the police officer that testified said that Shoaib was carrying "banned books" when arrested in 2003. (Banned books!) But when his attorney asked, "Did you read these books and are you sure that these are banned," he said, "No I did not read them nor did see any ban order." Incredulous, his attorney then asked, "How do you know that these were banned books?" The witness replied, "I was told by someone."
This is a pretty anemic case, especially when we consider that the government has had five and a half years to prepare it. It is spending an inordinate amount of time, exclusively mind you, to focus on one thing: Shoaib's alleged attempt to travel to Israel. Shoaib has paid for that "crime" a thousandfold. The government seems to have given up trying to prove the other phantom allegations, so the only question is whether or not the judge will determine that the specific action rises to the level of sedition, treason, and blasphemy. If he does, there can be no question that justice does not exist in Bangladesh, and I would urge the legal community in countries that abide by the rule of law to take action. Further, witness testimony at the prosecution's behest yesterday certainly indicates that some in the Bangladeshi government do not believe in basic freedoms of speech and expression. Next court date: July 29th. Clearly, things are speeding toward an end--hopefully a good one.
I spoke with Shoaib as he was returning home from the court today. He was in court--but the prosecution was not! A frustrated judge said, "I don't want anymore harassment of Choudhury!" And then set another court date: August 12.
Shoaib's court appearance on August 12 was rather odd. Two witnesses appeared for the government. According to Shoaib, their testimony (such as it was) was essentially dictated by the government perhaps in the form of extremely leading questioning and canned answers. Moreover, Shoaib said, the "prosecution side did not properly allow my lawyers to cross examine these fake witnesses." It all seemed rather irregular, and we still have to be given the next court date.
What does it all mean? Well, the first thing it means is that we were wrong recently and at other times to believe the Bangladeshi government had any sort of coherent plan or even the vaguest idea of what to do about this man. Shoaib Choudhury will remain a mystery to them because he has consistently stood on principle despite "incentives" not to do so.
Contrast that with the government. First, they claimed interest in his work--then, they arrested him. First they refused to charge him--then they charged him with capital offenses. Then, they refused to let him out on bail; but then let him out. They said they would drop the charges--which they admitted were false--then, they said they would not and called demands to do so interference. So they told us they would not put him on trial--but eventually did. Don't worry, they said, there is no evidence and he will be acquitted. But as perfunctory court dates came and went, the government refused to call any witnesses or present any arguments but somehow kept getting new court dates.
These things happened consistently with four different governments in charge (BNP, civilian caretaker, military-backed caretaker, and now Awami League). And with every turn away from justice, one could see the hand of Islamist puppet masters pulling the government's strings--over and over again. The government changed again and finally called a witness--but when the defense challenged him to provide evidence to support his allegations (and the judge supported the defense), we had months in which the witness simply refused to show for court--but the government got more court dates without any reprimand or demand to produce their witness. Recently, the prosecution changed up again and started calling witnesses; and Shoaib's attorney was convinced that the government was looking to end their ordeal. The witnesses talked about all sorts of things but did not offer any evidence that Shoaib committed a crime. But the last court date was another one in which the government failed to show. Then, there was today's debacle with government witnesses that seemed to be pertinent to another case--any case, but certainly not Shoaib's. They offered nothing of substance to move the case along. The judge previously castigated the government saying that for exposing Islamist radicals, Shoaib Choudhury deserves a medal--and then he allows this clown show to proceed in his court. So, is the government slowing down again or does it have an idea of when it will conclude. God alone knows! But even we humans know that for as long as they continue this travesty of justice, the government of Bangladesh is insuring that the United States and others will continue to reject their pleas for tariff relief, and their people will suffer as a result of their actions.
Shoaib's next court appearance is August 27, 2009. It will be the 66th appearance since his arrest in November 2003.
August 27, 2009. While it seemed at one point that the government had decided to bring Shoaib Choudhury's (and their own) ordeal to an end; the last few court appearances tell us otherwise. Most recently, Shoaib was rather matter-of-fact in conveying the news of his latest court appearance. "One witness appeared; nothing significant; next trial date September 15th." As a legal scholar recently told me, the Bangladeshi government "is denying Shoaib due process and delberately his right to a speedy trial."
Shoaib called me with news about today's court proceedings (September 15, 2009). It was "deja vu all over again": he went there, but the prosecution did not show. Naturally, the judge did not penalize the government but just said he would set a new date for the trial to resume. In the meantime, though, Shoaib's attorney, Advocate Govinda Chanda Pramanik told the court that Shoaib will be visiting the United States from October 26 through November 5. The court gave its consent. Shoaib will be in New York and New Haven from October 26 through October 30; at Rutgers University in New Jersey on November 1; and in Washington with me from November 2 through November 4.
To continue Click here.
The point is that none of this is new or even compelling. If this is all the government can regurgitate after five and a half years, there cannot be much of a case, at least on the basis of Bangladeshi law. Even the judge seemed to agree, asking the defense to explain exactly what Shoaib is accused of doing, after the day’s lame testimony. (The government seems to have finally given up on the false and easily-disproved allegation of a “Hello Tel Aviv” article since the judge asked for evidence of the allegation.) When Advocate Govinda said that Shoaib's crime was exposing the rise of radical Islam and its use of madrassas, Judge Bashir Ullah--and this might sound familiar--said he should be rewarded for that and not condemned. Shoaib said the Public Prosecutor was smiling at that point.
Whether he was smiling because he knows a guilty verdict will be handed down regardless, because he knows our expectations of vindication will be dashed as were our previous hopes, or because he sees an end to Shoaib’s ordeal crowned with a not guilty verdict; is a matter of speculation. We seem to have gone through this before under previous governments only to be disappointed. But Shoaib believes that the government has decided to finish the trial, he expects as early as August. They could have done so months, even years ago but did not. Perhaps the economic hard times have led them to re-cast their strategy as regards trade. Perhaps they have read recent articles urging the United Nations to bar Bangladesh from peacekeeping missions. Bangladesh provides more UN peacekeepers than any other country except Pakistan, and doing so has become critical for the Bangladeshi economy. It was also one of the underlying reasons for the 2007 coup there. Or maybe it is they, not us, who ultimately tired of it all.
If Shoaib is right, here is what we can expect. Once the government concludes its case, the court will set a date for "argument," or the defense's rebuttal. Once that is concluded, the judge will retire to determine verdicts and set a date when judgement will be read. Today’s events certainly made it seem that the government had despaired of presenting any serious evidence for the charge; a hopeful sign. We must remember, however, that if the real decision is to continuing placating the radicals, the lack of evidence will not factor into Shoaib’s fate. It certainly has not up till now.
Next date: July 22, 2009.
On July 22, the trial picked up where it left off last week. The prosecution called four witnesses to testify, but none of them had anything significant to say. Shoaib did not even find anything that qualified them to testify. They testified that Shoaib "wanted" to travel to Israel and that he communicated with Israelis over the Internet. Are these crimes in Bangladesh? Let's hope not! It would indicate that there is no commitment to basic freedoms in Bangladesh; if that is the case, I am sure the US and the UN would have specific actions that they would feel compelled to take. Shoaib also noted that one of the witnesses said that he hurt the sentiments of Muslims by "criticizing madrassas"--another troubling attack on freedom of expression. And the police officer that testified said that Shoaib was carrying "banned books" when arrested in 2003. (Banned books!) But when his attorney asked, "Did you read these books and are you sure that these are banned," he said, "No I did not read them nor did see any ban order." Incredulous, his attorney then asked, "How do you know that these were banned books?" The witness replied, "I was told by someone."
This is a pretty anemic case, especially when we consider that the government has had five and a half years to prepare it. It is spending an inordinate amount of time, exclusively mind you, to focus on one thing: Shoaib's alleged attempt to travel to Israel. Shoaib has paid for that "crime" a thousandfold. The government seems to have given up trying to prove the other phantom allegations, so the only question is whether or not the judge will determine that the specific action rises to the level of sedition, treason, and blasphemy. If he does, there can be no question that justice does not exist in Bangladesh, and I would urge the legal community in countries that abide by the rule of law to take action. Further, witness testimony at the prosecution's behest yesterday certainly indicates that some in the Bangladeshi government do not believe in basic freedoms of speech and expression. Next court date: July 29th. Clearly, things are speeding toward an end--hopefully a good one.
I spoke with Shoaib as he was returning home from the court today. He was in court--but the prosecution was not! A frustrated judge said, "I don't want anymore harassment of Choudhury!" And then set another court date: August 12.
Shoaib's court appearance on August 12 was rather odd. Two witnesses appeared for the government. According to Shoaib, their testimony (such as it was) was essentially dictated by the government perhaps in the form of extremely leading questioning and canned answers. Moreover, Shoaib said, the "prosecution side did not properly allow my lawyers to cross examine these fake witnesses." It all seemed rather irregular, and we still have to be given the next court date.
What does it all mean? Well, the first thing it means is that we were wrong recently and at other times to believe the Bangladeshi government had any sort of coherent plan or even the vaguest idea of what to do about this man. Shoaib Choudhury will remain a mystery to them because he has consistently stood on principle despite "incentives" not to do so.
Contrast that with the government. First, they claimed interest in his work--then, they arrested him. First they refused to charge him--then they charged him with capital offenses. Then, they refused to let him out on bail; but then let him out. They said they would drop the charges--which they admitted were false--then, they said they would not and called demands to do so interference. So they told us they would not put him on trial--but eventually did. Don't worry, they said, there is no evidence and he will be acquitted. But as perfunctory court dates came and went, the government refused to call any witnesses or present any arguments but somehow kept getting new court dates.
These things happened consistently with four different governments in charge (BNP, civilian caretaker, military-backed caretaker, and now Awami League). And with every turn away from justice, one could see the hand of Islamist puppet masters pulling the government's strings--over and over again. The government changed again and finally called a witness--but when the defense challenged him to provide evidence to support his allegations (and the judge supported the defense), we had months in which the witness simply refused to show for court--but the government got more court dates without any reprimand or demand to produce their witness. Recently, the prosecution changed up again and started calling witnesses; and Shoaib's attorney was convinced that the government was looking to end their ordeal. The witnesses talked about all sorts of things but did not offer any evidence that Shoaib committed a crime. But the last court date was another one in which the government failed to show. Then, there was today's debacle with government witnesses that seemed to be pertinent to another case--any case, but certainly not Shoaib's. They offered nothing of substance to move the case along. The judge previously castigated the government saying that for exposing Islamist radicals, Shoaib Choudhury deserves a medal--and then he allows this clown show to proceed in his court. So, is the government slowing down again or does it have an idea of when it will conclude. God alone knows! But even we humans know that for as long as they continue this travesty of justice, the government of Bangladesh is insuring that the United States and others will continue to reject their pleas for tariff relief, and their people will suffer as a result of their actions.
Shoaib's next court appearance is August 27, 2009. It will be the 66th appearance since his arrest in November 2003.
August 27, 2009. While it seemed at one point that the government had decided to bring Shoaib Choudhury's (and their own) ordeal to an end; the last few court appearances tell us otherwise. Most recently, Shoaib was rather matter-of-fact in conveying the news of his latest court appearance. "One witness appeared; nothing significant; next trial date September 15th." As a legal scholar recently told me, the Bangladeshi government "is denying Shoaib due process and delberately his right to a speedy trial."
Shoaib called me with news about today's court proceedings (September 15, 2009). It was "deja vu all over again": he went there, but the prosecution did not show. Naturally, the judge did not penalize the government but just said he would set a new date for the trial to resume. In the meantime, though, Shoaib's attorney, Advocate Govinda Chanda Pramanik told the court that Shoaib will be visiting the United States from October 26 through November 5. The court gave its consent. Shoaib will be in New York and New Haven from October 26 through October 30; at Rutgers University in New Jersey on November 1; and in Washington with me from November 2 through November 4.
To continue Click here.