Fakhrul, Khasru walk out of jail after 3.5 months

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury were freed from jail on bail after nearly three and a half months of their arrest before the 12th parliamentary election.

They walked out of Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj around 3:35pm after the bail order reached the jail authorities, said BNP's media cell member Shayrul Kabir Khan.

He said BNP leaders and activists and the relatives of the two top leaders of the party received the duo at the jail gate.

Upon his release from prison, Mirza Fakhrul urged the partymen gathered at the jail gate to continue the movement to 'restore voting rights'. 

He reassured party leaders and activists that there is no reason for despair, reports Prothom Alo.

Mentioning that the government would face consequences for conducting a "lopsided election" on 7 January, Fakhrul said BNP did not incur any losses [by not participating in the elections]. 

At that time, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury declared their commitment to continue the movement. 

Earlier on Thursday, a Dhaka court granted bail to both Fakhrul and Khasru in connection with a case filed over the vandalism of the chief justice's residence during a BNP rally on 28 October last year.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judges Court's acting judge, Faisal Atiq Bin Quader, approved the bail upon reviewing their petitions.

The case was filed by the police on 29 October, accusing 59 BNP leaders and activists, including Fakhrul and Khasru.

In total, 11 cases were filed against Fakhrul and 10 against Khasru related to the violence during the rally. Fakhrul was detained on 29 October, and Khasru on 3 November, both from their residences in Gulshan.