Joint statement of 115 Bangladeshi lawyers

More than 100 lawyers of Bangladesh Supreme Court and Dhaka Judge Court urged the government to ensure freedom expression and freedom peaceful assembly and show its utter respect to the fundamental rights of the constitution.
Calling for extending its full cooperation to hold any peaceful assembly, a total of 115 lawyers also called upon the government to refrain from using “excessive force” against protests ahead of the next elections.
On Wednesday, 115 lawyers issued the following joint statement calling for cooperation to hold a peaceful assembly of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Dhaka City South at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in the capital on June 10.
In the joint statement, the lawyers said Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Dhaka City South has announced to hold a protest rally in the capital on June 10 to realize its specific three-point demands.
The demands are:
• free, fair and inclusive elections under caretaker government,
• release of its party leaders including Jamaat ameer
•control of shy-rocketing price hike
In order to properly implement the rally, an application has already been sent to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police( DMP), they stated.
Constitution is the supreme law of the nation. The constitution of Bangladesh gives citizens the right to freedom of movement, expression of opinion and peaceful assembly. Article 37 of the Constitution clearly states, “Every citizen shall have the right to assemble and to participate in public meetings and processions peacefully and without arms, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interests of public order or public health”.
Lawyers said “It is the main responsibility of the law enforcement agencies of the state to cooperate in the implementation of the right of assembly as recognized in the constitution. But police has been repeatedly and unlawfully denying our the fundamental rights enshrined in the Bangladesh constitution for long. Earlier Jamaat Dhaka City South submitted different applications to the DMP for extending its cooperation to hold rallies on December 30, 2022 and on February 11 and 25 , 2023”.
Unfortunately the police administration did not extend any cooperation in any case. Even when a delegation of Supreme Court lawyers reached the DMP for getting permission to hold a rally, they were detained from its main gate. The unlawful detainment of the Supreme Court lawyers triggered huge protest on social media platform across the country, the statement said.
Last on June 5, an application was sent to the DMP seeking support for holding a protest rally and procession. But the DMP commissioner rejected that application on the ground of ‘working day’. Despite repeated requests for cooperation, the police administration is not allowing Jamaat-e-Islami to hold meetings for long. As we the lawyers have been fighting to establish the rule of law in the country for the longer period of time, we call upon the police administration to fully cooperate with the peaceful assembly of Jamaat-e-Islami to implement this constitutionally recognized right, according to the statement.
The lawyers also said, “We have observed that the Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists have been arrested from their homes and workplaces unjustly and unlawfully just for their peaceful political programmes. Also the family members of those activists suffered different forms of harassment and torture without any crime which is the ultimate affront to the rule of law”.
They also called upon the police administration not to stand in the way of creating an anti-democratic environment in the country.