News Brief
'There Is A Conspiracy To Keep Him In Jail': Bangladesh Lawyer Rabindra Ghosh Vows Justice For Jailed Hindu Monk Chinmoy Krishna Das
Former ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das outside the court in Chittagong (File Photo)
Rabindra Ghosh, the lawyer representing jailed Bangladeshi Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, has said he would defend his client in a Bangladesh court on 2 January.
Ghosh also alleged that efforts were being made by some to “prolong” the monk’s imprisonment.
“Conspiracy to keep Chinmoy Krishna Das in jail year after year,” Ghosh alleged while speaking to mediapersons outside ISKCON temple in Kolkata.
He added, “I will return to Bangladesh and continue my fight for all who are facing atrocities.”
A practicing lawyer at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and chairman of Bangladesh Minority Watch, Ghosh revealed that he had made two attempts to appear at the Chittagong metropolitan sessions judge’s court to defend Chinmoy Krishna Das and file a bail application, but was unsuccessful.
“The next hearing is on 2 January 2025. If I am not sick, I will appear in court to defend him. If I am unable to, I will arrange for lawyers to defend him. We will continue the fight,” said Ghosh.
Currently undergoing medical treatment in West Bengal’s Barrackpore, Ghosh said that Chinmoy Krishna Das had been framed on “false charges.”
Chinmoy Krishna Das, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport while traveling to Chattogram for a rally.
Following the denial of bail, Das has been sent to jail until 2 January by a Bangladeshi court.
“There is international outrage on the issue. Chinmoy Krishna Das did good for people. Why would he be in jail? Why would a sedition case be filed against him? He is being harassed and the lawyers who are trying to defend him are being harassed. There is a conspiracy to keep him in jail. If there is no hearing in court, he will be in jail. There is a constancy to keep judicial interference at bay. I am a lawyer and I have no political affiliations. Everyone is equal before the law,” added Ghosh, Indian Express reported.
“There have been over 6,650 incidents of atrocities against minorities (since interim government came). I have been to several foreign countries. There are international laws. But what can we do if such laws are unheeded (in Bangladesh)," the lawyer said.
“We, those lawyers who went to court to plead for him were stopped by fellow lawyers. They are also fellow lawyers but they tried to stop us. We have received threats,” he said. “We will continue to fight for democracy and human rights which is in peril in a Bangladesh,” Ghosh said.
