14yrs behind bars in false case

A Bangladeshi indigenous citizen, sentenced to two months rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a false case filed against him on charge of intrusion into the country, was released here yesterday after keeping him in different jails for 14 years.
District and Sessions Judge Hrishikesh Saha ordered the authorities concern to release U Thoai Hla Marma from the district jail.
Naikhongchhari thana police on May 3, 1995 arrested U Thoai from his house at Sonaichhari and he was produced before the court on the following day showing him as a Myanmar citizen.
On July 20, 1995 Bandarban first class magistrate court sentenced him to two months RI on charge of intrusion. The court also fined him Tk 1,000, in default, to suffer one month more RI.
Later, he had to suffer imprisonment in different jails of the country.
In the meantime, he was taken to Myanmar border to hand over him to Myanmar authorities but they denied to accept him as their citizen.
When he was in Cox’s Bazar jail, his relatives came to know about his plight.
On a request from U Thoai’s wife, senior lawyer of Bandarban Judge’s Court advocate Muhammad Jainul Abedin and advocate Ba Thoai Ching fought the legal battle for the victim on humanitarian ground.
The judge took the matter into cognizance and ordered his quick release after examining documents of his citizenship.
After his release U Thoai told The Daily Star that this (judgment) is the result of an independent judiciary.
He said without hearing him, the then first class magistrate of Bandarban on July 20, 1995 gave the verdict, which has been proved false now under an independent judiciary.
U Thoai raised a question, “Who will try those for whose mistake he lost 14 valuable years of his life without committing any crime.”
Advocate Muhammad Jainul Abedin said, such inhumane incident has been taken place due to whimsical behaviour of the prosecution authority and submission of charge sheet without carrying out in-depth investigation.

Courtesy of The Daily Star