Pro-BNP, Jamaat lawyers boycott courts for 2nd day

Pro-BNP and Jamaat lawyers observed countrywide court-boycott programme for second day today demanding "restoration of democracy and rule of law, and stopping injustice in the name of trials".

The lawyers abstained from attending court functions in 61 districts except the three districts in Chattogram Hill Tracts, Barrister Kayser Kamal, secretary general of Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Ainjibi Forum (BJAF), a body of pro-BNP lawyers, told The Daily Star. 

They will continue their programme till January 7, he added.

As part of the programme, a section of lawyers staged sit-in at the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) premises from 9:00am-4:00pm with one hour's break yesterday.   

Meanwhile, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin told reporters at his office that there was no impact of the boycott programme on the court functions.

All the courts including the Appellate Division and High Court Divisions of the SC have conducted judicial functions on Monday and yesterday he said. 

On December 31, BJAF and Bangladesh Lawyers Council at separate press conferences announced that they will boycott all the courts across the country from January 1-7 in protest against what they said was a "dummy" elections and conviction of BNP men in "fabricated" cases.