Dipu Moni gets ‘emotional’ over bail issue

Former Education Minister Dr. Dipu Moni has been in jail in a crimes against humanity case. She applied for bail last April. But the application has not been resolved yet. Meanwhile, her husband died on August 18. The government later released her on parole for 12 hours so she could attend the burial.

In this situation, before the bail hearing began at the International Crimes Tribunal on Thursday, Dipu Moni, a leader of the Awami League whose activities are currently banned and a former minister, sought permission to speak. The tribunal allowed her to speak. She then spoke into the microphone in the dock of the tribunal courtroom. She delivered her statement in an emotional manner.

Addressing the tribunal, she said, “I have been imprisoned for two years. My bail application was filed last April. Now I do not want bail. I want to withdraw my bail application.”

She further said, “During the hearing of my bail application earlier, the tribunal said, what will you do by going home? Now I no longer need to go home. My husband Taufiq Newaz had been bedridden for seven years. He also had lost his ability to speak. Whenever I said something, he would answer by blinking his eyes. I took care of my bedridden husband while serving in the government for five years. As I have been in jail for the last two years, my husband had to leave our home and stay at an undisclosed location for two years. He was living under someone else’s shelter. I could not take care of him either. He could not accept this life.”

Dipu Moni’s husband Taufiq Newaz died on the night of August 18. Dipu Moni’s lawyer had filed her bail application on April 26.

Dipu Moni also said that her husband had been admitted to a hospital four months ago after his physical condition deteriorated. She said, “I applied for bail so that I could go to him at that time. I could not be by the side of my 39-year life partner during his final days. Now the need to go home is over for me. Who will I go to now? My children want me to get bail. I am no longer in a hurry to go home.”

The tribunal then said they were deeply saddened. It said there was justification for Dipu Moni’s application. However, there were many other matters they had to consider. The tribunal later set September 17 for the hearing on Dipu Moni’s bail application.

The three-member tribunal is headed by Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Mozumder. The other two members are Justice Md. Shafiul Alam Mahmud and Judge Md. Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury. They were present during the bail hearing.