Staff Reporter : The BNP in its reaction to the Supreme Court’s judgment on the review petition filed by Salauddin Quader Chowdhury against death penalty said that their leader had been denied justice. The party thinks that justice was possible had the SC taken into account the documents provided by his lawyers in his favour. “We are stunned and disappointed. Our position on Salauddin Quader Chowdhury is clear. What we said after the Appellate Division’s judgment in the case filed against him on July 29 remains unchanged. We expected justice, but sadly that had not happened.” BNP’s spokesman Dr Asaduzzaman Ripon said these at a press conference in the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office. He further said, the government gave more priority to their leader’s political identity than his crimes. “He has become a victim of his political identity. A person should be tried on the basis of his crimes, not on political consideration,” he said. Dr Ripon said that they think their leader was also deprived of his basic and human rights. “Salauddin Quader Chowdhury tried to prove himself innocent. He provided documents to justify his claim that he had not been in the country during the Liberation War. If the court kindly examined the documents and taken the testimony of volunteer witnesses in favour of him, he might have got justice and avoided death penalty,” said the BNP leader. Saying that Salauddin Quader Chowdhury had been elected Parliament member for six times, he said that their leader was very vocal for the safety of the country’s independence and its sovereignty and democracy. “He is a clean and honest politician with commitment to politics,” said Dr Ripon.
