Staff Reporter :
The government is going to form a special anti-terrorism tribunal to try the miscreants involved in violence during the ongoing blockade and shutdowns enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.
“The government will form a special ‘Anti Terrorism Tribunal’ soon to try those fomenting trouble during blockades and hartals,” Law Minister Anisul Haque told the journalists on Thursday.
He added: Separate courts will be formed in all the districts within 10 days under the tribunal to deal with cases filed with incidents of violence and terrorism committed in the name of hartal and blockade.
“Process of formation of such tribunals has already started. The court will be formed under the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009,” he said.
The Law Minister further said that an additional district and session judge will deal with the trial of such cases on priority basis until the tribunals are established.
In reply to a query, Anisul Haque said investigation into most of the cases filed over the violence during the blockade and hartals are yet to be completed. The trials would start after the investigation reports reached the courts.
Earlier this month, chief of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry Suranjit Sengupta said that the government was thinking about passing a law to deal with the cases filed against violence and vandalism during blockade and shutdowns.
Sources in the Law Ministry said, the tribunals will be formed in line with the updated ‘Anti-Terrorism Act’ that was formulated in the light of the UN regulations and convention to prevent terrorism such as killing, carrying and use of arms and ammunition and other flammable objects to create panic and to check terror financing as well.
The new Act allows courts to accept videos, still photographs and audio clips, chats and conversation used on the social media such as Facebook, Skype and Twitter.
It provides a maximum jail term of 20 years’ and a fine of Tk 20 lakh for funding acts of terrorism.
According to the government, at least 55 people have been killed in petrol bomb attacks during the ongoing blockade by the BNP-led alliance from January 5 this year.
Miscreants torched a total of 664 vehicles and 410 others were vandalised during the blockade violence.
