Bangladeshi court rejects Hindu monk’s bail petition
Dhaka (PTI): A court in the southeastern port city of Chattogram on Thursday denied bail to Hindu monk and former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das in a sedition case.
A group of 11 lawyers stood for him with a bail petition during the hearing for which Das appeared virtually.
“The hearing continued for some 30 minutes when (Metropolitan Sessions) Judge Mohammad Saiful Islam heard both the prosecution and the defence lawyers and then rejected his (Das') bail petition,” a court official said.
Das, formerly with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and now a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote organisation, was arrested at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on November 25. He was brought to Chattogram where the court sent him to jail rejecting his bail petition the next day.
He was arrested on sedition charges for allegedly “desecrating” the Bangladesh flag brought to Chattogram where subsequent violence over his arrest left a government prosecutor dead, sparking further tensions.
“The allegation of disrespecting the national flag is baseless, as it was not a national flag. We informed the court that this case cannot proceed,” top defence counsel Apurba Kumar Bhattacharya told journalists emerging from the closely monitored hearing.
Public Prosecutor Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan, on the other hand, said, “We opposed the bail during the hearing, and the court has rejected the bail application.”
Bhattacharya, a former deputy attorney general, was leading the team of 11 Supreme Court lawyers to represent Das.
Police enforced a tight security inside and around the court complex allowing lawyers and others concerned after strict identity checks.
When Das' bail was rejected on November 26, the decision had angered members of the Hindu community, who staged a protest around the prison van outside the court leading to violent clashes. It led to the death of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif.
Earlier on December 11, the court rejected a plea seeking advanced hearing of his bail petition by lawyer Rabindra Ghose ruling that it would be heard on the previously fixed date on January 2, 2025.
Court officials said the judge at that time rejected the plea as the lawyer who filed the petition seeking the advanced hearing (Ghose) did not have the power of attorney from the monk.
The hearing was due to be held on December 3 when the court deferred the date to January 2 on a prosecution side suggestion as no lawyer appeared on Das' behalf.
An associate of Das from his Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, Sawtantra Gauranga Das, earlier said no lawyer stood for the monk fearing threats and pressure from a “politically motivated lawyers' group.”
There have been a series of attacks on Hindu community members and their places of worship after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power after deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country on August 5 following a student-led protest.
On October 31, a case was filed with the Kotwali police station in Chattogram accusing Das and 18 others of disrespecting Bangladesh's national flag.
There have been a series of attacks on Hindu community members and their places of worship after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power after deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country on August 5 following a student-led protest.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
