Bangladesh News

The lawyers of four Rajshahi University teachers yesterday decided to go ahead with appeal proceedings against their clients’ convictions even though the government freed the academics two days ago amid mounting public demand.

The defence lodged the appeals with the District and Sessions Judge’s court on December 9, one day before the teachers walked out of prison. The court set December 27 to hear the appeals.

The four teachers, meantime, joined their respective departments yesterday. They were given two-year jail terms on December 4 for breaking the emergency power rules by bringing out a silent procession on the campus on August 21.

Two other teachers and two university staff are still behind bars on charge of abetting torching a DGFI vehicle during the violence. The verdict in the subsequent case is due today.

“The teachers were freed following a government general amnesty. There are two parts in the court judgement — the conviction and the sentences. So far as we know, the president cleared them of the punishment only… if it is so, we must try to clear them of the conviction too”, said Golam Arif Tipu, who argued for the teachers in court.

He said they need to go ahead with the appeal proceedings even if the president’s clemency covers both conviction and punishment because the government has not withdrawn the case.

“We don’t want to give anyone the scope for creating problems in the future”, said another defence lawyer.

An education ministry letter to the university vice chancellor, however, said the presidential pardon covered both the conviction and the sentences. The Daily Star obtained a copy of the ministry’s letter.

The lawyers, however, said a home ministry letter to the jail authorities created the problem in which the ministry said the president pardoned only the jail terms and monetary fines.

The four teachers, meantime, demanded the release of their two other colleagues and four Dhaka University teachers after joining the departments yesterday.

Vice chancellor Dr Altaf Hossain said, “As per the education ministry letter, the four teachers will not face any problem as to their jobs … even the period they spent in jail will be counted as job period”.

Rajshahi University Teachers’ Association in a press release yesterday called on the government to release all teachers and students of Dhaka and Rajshahi universities. Ruta welcomed the government for freeing the four teachers.