Haji Selim to Surrender Before Court this Afternoon

Awami League lawmaker Haji Mohammad Selim, whose recent foreign trip for treatment despite the conviction in a graft case sparked huge criticism, is scheduled to surrender before a court Sunday afternoon.

Syed Ahmed Raza, a counsel of Haji Selim, said he will surrender before Judge of Special Court-7 Shahidul Islam around 2 pm.

Haji Selim, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission, went to Bangkok for treatment purposes on May 2 and returned home on May 5 which sparked huge controversy.

On February 10, the full text of the High Court’s verdict was published upholding his 10-year imprisonment.

The HC asked him to surrender to the trial court within 30 days of receiving the verdict.

The HC directed the trial court to cancel the bail order of the MP and issue an arrest warrant against him if he does not surrender within the given time.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam said, “After this verdict, Haji Selim has lost the eligibility to remain an MP according to article 66 (2) of the Constitution.”

On March 9 last year, the HC bench of Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq upheld the lower court order sentencing him to 10 years in jail after hearing a petition by the ACC.

At the same time, the Dhaka-7 MP was acquitted of a three-year jail term in the same case filed by the ACC for concealing wealth information.

The High Court also reduced the fine imposed on Selim by half to Tk 10 lakh. He will have to spend one more year in jail if he fails to pay the fine.

In 2007, the ACC filed a case against Selim. On April 27, 2008, a Dhaka court jailed him for 13 years and fined Tk 20 lakh.

Selim moved the High Court against the verdict.

In 2011, the court overturned his sentence but the ACC later appealed against the lower court verdict.

Later, the Appellate Division asked the High Court to re-hear the petition.

Irregularities of Selim resurfaced after his son Irfan Selim was arrested for assaulting a navy official in 2020._UNB