Denied care and proper legal aid, detained Awami League leader slams Yunus govt

Dhaka, Oct 6 Dipu Moni, the former Foreign Affairs, Education and Social Welfare Minister of Bangladesh and Joint Secretary of the Awami League party, lashed out at the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus on Monday, accusing authorities of depriving detained opposition leaders of medical treatment.

During a remand hearing at the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, Moni pointed to the recent death of her former cabinet colleague Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun who was also detained and taken to hospital four times just before his death at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).

"Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun died due to a lack of medical treatment," she told the judge. "Do we have to die to prove that we are unwell?" Moni was quoted as saying in the court on Monday, leading Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo reported.

The Awami League leader's remarks came as the local police sought to interrogate her and her former party colleague and MP Solaiman Salim in separate murder cases linked to the July Uprising.

Investigators from Shahbagh Police Station requested a 10-day remand for Moni in the murder case of Mohammad Monir, a small jute trader who was shot dead during protests on August 5, 2024.

Defence lawyer Gazi Faisal Islam opposed the remand plea and applied for bail, arguing that Dipu Moni, who has been in custody for months, was unwell and named in the case without substantive evidence, Prothom Alo reported.

When the judge allowed her to speak, the former Awami League Joint General Secretary detailed her health struggles and frustration.

"I have not been keeping well since last August. I require some medical diagnostic tests that assess brain health. Around September 9 or 10, I was taken to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital because I was ill. But not all medical tests could be completed there.

"Later, permission was sought to transfer me to another hospital for further tests. I was supposed to be taken there yesterday, but because no police escort was available, that didn't happen. I thought I'd be taken today, but instead, I was brought to court. Nothing is being done. Am staying at the Kashimpur Female Prison in Gazipur for more than a year," she said.

She continued, "They say there’s no police squad to take me to the hospital, yet they brought me to court. I am seeking justice. I am not getting the medical care I need."

Moni also complained that she was being denied adequate access to legal counsel.

"There are more than 60 cases against me. But I haven't been able to meet my lawyers properly. In the past year, I've only seen them three times," she said.

"On the days I'm taken to court, I ask that I be allowed to meet my lawyer in the court lock-up so I can at least discuss my cases," the newspaper quoted Moni as saying.

Public Prosecutor Omar Faruq Faruqi rejected the claims, saying meetings could be arranged at the jail gate under existing prison rules.

After Faruqi spoke, Moni stated firmly in the end "Do we have to die to prove that we are unwell?"

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted police permission to interrogate Moni for four days. She was taken in a prison van to Kashimpur Female Prison in Gazipur later.

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