Former Chief Justice Khairul Haq Arrested in Bangladesh, Release Temporarily Halted

Former Chief Justice of Bangladesh, A.B.M. Khairul Haq, was arrested and detained in a case filed at the Banani police station. The court issued an arrest warrant regarding charges under the attempted murder and explosives acts. After the hearing of Haq, who was produced before the court virtually from prison on Wednesday, was completed, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Arifur Rahman made this decision. This development caused a huge public reaction, as it demonstrates that the country's senior judges are also subject to similar prosecutions. The defense team is preparing for an intensive legal battle to renew their demands for release and acquittal in the upcoming process.

With this latest arrest order, it became official that former Chief Justice Haq has been arrested in a total of nine different cases. Although he was handcuffed in eight of the nine cases previously, the appellate court and senior legal authorities had decided to release him under judicial control conditions. However, this newly filed case, for which he was detained, has temporarily suspended all bail opportunities in the current legal process. Due to the long and complex nature of the court process, the likelihood of Haq being released from prison in the short term seems quite low at the moment. This situation is expected to create new topics of discussion both in the public opinion and legal circles.

In a statement made by Chief Inspector Moktar Hossain, who works at the Prosecution Department of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), it was stated that the defense side immediately applied for bail following the arrest decision. Upon the relevant application, the court scheduled a new hearing in the afternoon to discuss the bail request. The decision to be made following this new hearing stands out as one of the most critical elements that will determine the fate of the former chief justice. Defense lawyers plan to continue their requests for judicial control on the grounds of their client's age and his status as a former senior public official. However, whether the court will accept these requests will be shaped depending on the strength of the evidence presented and witness testimonies.

The background of this latest case, in which the former chief justice was arrested, dates back to the July Movement, which took place on 4 Ağustos 2024 and witnessed widespread protests in the country. According to court records, an incident occurred when protesters gathered near the Mahakhali Köprüsü and attempted to march towards the Shahbagh region. It is alleged that a severe attack was launched on the demonstrators, firearms were discharged, and cocktail molotovs and hand grenades were used. During these violent clashes, at least 25 to 30 people, including Ujjal Mia, were reported to have been injured to varying degrees. Following these traumatic events, Ujjal Mia personally applied to the Banani police station to file a complaint and opened an official case containing the aforementioned charges.

Khairul Haq's legal troubles are not limited to this single incident; it is known that the former chief justice was detained multiple times in recent months on different charges. Haq, who was taken from his home in Dhanmondi in July of last year and arrested by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Intelligence Department, was also sent to prison at that time in connection with the death of a protester in Jatrabari. Furthermore, he was named in two cases filed at the Fatullah and port police stations of Narayanganj, as well as in a case at the Shahbagh police station. The cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) are also among the factors that increasingly add to the legal burden on the former chief justice. Although bail decisions given by the high court have been approved in many of the total cases, these new charges continue to cause new legal obstacles to emerge.