In a human chain program on 27th August, 2017 in front of the national press club, a minister of the present government verbally assaulted the chief justice of the Bangladesh Supreme Court saying that ‘either you leave the country or go to Hemayetpur mental hospital.’ While former justice of the Appellate Division, AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik in a discussion program in Dhaka Reporters Unity on 26th August said targeting the chief justice that ‘You have to leave the office of the chief justice as well as the country’. Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman has issued the following statement on 28th August, 2017 condemning these intolerable, humiliating and contemptuous comments.

“The way a sitting minister and a former justice of the Appellate Division are making intolerable, humiliating and indecent comments against the Chief Justice of Bangladesh Supreme Court, is not only contemptuous but practically they have made an offence of contempt of court. Such unlawful comments are fully illegitimate, unexpected and unprecedented. Their comments exposed their intolerance attitude as a whole.

The countrymen do not expect such provocative, indecent and contemptuous comments from a minister and a former justice. By making such humiliating comments, they have violated the law and the constitution. They should be tried on charge of contempt of court.

The minister who has made this vulgar comment against the chief justice, once upon a time, he had desired to play games with the dead skin of ex-Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Is he making these indecent and unlawful comments about the chief justice just to compensate his previous speeches?

Former Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik can’t deliver such an indecent, low caste and provocative statement against the chief justice. His comments proved that he was not qualified to be a justice of the Supreme Court. He had been appointed as a justice because of his unconditional loyalty towards a particular party.

The incumbent Awami League led grand alliance government has seized the voting rights of the fellow countrymen. The government has confiscated the people’s democratic rights of holding rallies and freedom of expression and thus sent the democracy to exile. The government also turned the election commission into its subservient body and through a farcical election, they have constituted a rubber stamp parliament comprising some unelected peoples and thus invalidated the parliamentary democracy. Now the ministers are plotting conspiracy to destroy the judiciary by making humiliating, indecent, vulgar and provocative comments against the chief justice. I am urging the fellow citizens of the country to raise voice against this heinous conspiracy.

In this backdrop, I am calling upon the concerned authorities to bring all the personnel including the minister and former justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik to the book who are making contemptuous comments against the Supreme Court verdict and the Chief Justice.

Otherwise, people would be unable to find for showing respect and confidence towards judiciary and at the same time it would increase the tendency of violating the law.”