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Former Education Minister Dipu Moni has told the International Crimes Tribunal that she no longer wants bail and wishes to withdraw her bail petition.
“I have been in jail for two years. My bail petition was filed in April. I no longer want bail. I want to withdraw my bail petition,” she told International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Thursday (August 27).
Dipu Moni was brought before the tribunal in a case involving alleged crimes against humanity committed during the July mass uprising. Her bail hearing had been scheduled for Thursday.
Before the hearing began, she sought permission to address the tribunal. After being allowed to speak, she made the remarks from the dock using a microphone.
Recalling her previous bail hearing, Dipu Moni said the tribunal had asked what she would do if she returned home. “I no longer need to go home,” she said.
She said her husband, Tawfiq Nawaz, had been bedridden for seven years and had lost his ability to speak. During her five years in government service, she had cared for him despite his condition.
She said her husband had been forced to stay in an undisclosed location for two years and that she had been unable to care for him during that period. He died on the night of August 18.
Dipu Moni said she had sought bail when her husband’s health deteriorated and he was hospitalised four months ago so that she could be by his side. However, she could not be with her husband of 39 years during his final days.
“Now there is no need for me to go home. Who would I go to? My children want me to get bail, but I have no urgency to return home,” she said.
The tribunal expressed sympathy, saying it understood the rationale behind her request but had to consider several other matters.
The next hearing on her bail petition has been scheduled for September 17.
The three-member tribunal is headed by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumdar. Justice Md Shafiul Alam Mahmud and Judge Md Mohitul Hoque Enam Chowdhury are the other members.
