Ex-speaker Shirin Sharmin released on bail

Former parliament speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was released from jail on Sunday after securing bail in a case filed with Lalbagh police station over allegations of violence, vandalism, and attempted murder linked to the July uprising.
Mst Kawalin Nahar, senior jail superintendent of Kashimpur Women’s Central Jail in Gazipur, confirmed the matter, saying that she was released on bail and left the jail premises at around 6:30pm.
Earlier in the day, a Dhaka court granted bail to Shirin Sharmin in the case.
Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Zakir Hossain passed the order upon a Tk50,000 bond, which will remain effective until the submission of the police investigation report, following a bail petition filed by the defence, Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruqi said.
During the hearing, defence lawyers Nazia Kabir, Barrister ABM Hamidul Misbah, and Imrul Kaiser argued for bail, citing the accused’s 
medical condition, while the prosecution opposed the plea, stating that the case is still under investigation and that her release could hinder the probe.
After hearing both sides, the court granted bail.
Following the order, state prosecutor Faruqi said the defence emphasised that the accused is a woman suffering from multiple health complications and is currently in poor condition in custody. The prosecution maintained that granting bail at this stage could obstruct the investigation.
Defence lawyer Nazia Kabir, representing Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, said the judiciary is functioning impartially under the current government and is exercising proper judicial discretion in its decisions. She added that such an approach was rare during the interim government and expressed hope that justice would continue to be upheld.

Another defence counsel, Barrister ABM Hamidul Misbah, said the court considered her health condition while granting bail and directed the submission of the bail bond. He also noted that, to their knowledge, she is not facing arrest in any other case.