Gazi Salahuddin Tanvir, relieved central joint member secretary of the National Citizens Party (NCP), appeared before a court in Bogura on Sunday in an ambulance while undergoing treatment for serious health complications.
Tanvir was brought from a private hospital in Dhaka to the Bogura Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court premises at around 11:15am for a hearing in a case filed over an allegedly defamatory Facebook post concerning the prime minister.
After completing the court proceedings, he was scheduled to return to the Dhaka hospital for further treatment on doctors’ advice.
Tanvir’s lawyer and NCP Bogura district unit Senior Joint Member Secretary Advocate Ejaz Al Wasee said his client was in critical condition and claimed that the lower part of his body had become completely paralysed.
He said Tanvir was undergoing physiotherapy at a private hospital in Dhaka.
Speaking to journalists on the court premises, Wasee alleged that the case against Tanvir was politically motivated and described it as “a farce” over a Facebook post that had been publicly shared.
He also alleged that Tanvir had been subjected to physical and mental torture while in remand and jail. However, no independent evidence was immediately available to substantiate the allegations.
According to the case documents and Tanvir’s lawyer, law enforcement agencies arrested him from Monipuripara in Mirpur, Dhaka, in the early hours of August 5. He was produced before a Bogura court the same day, which ordered that he be sent to jail.
On August 10, the court granted police three days’ remand in the case.
The lawyer claimed that Tanvir’s health deteriorated during the remand period and his subsequent stay in jail, citing complications including a brain stroke, panic disorder and cervical spondylosis.
He was later taken to a private hospital in Dhaka for treatment.
Tanvir’s appearance in court by ambulance drew considerable attention among lawyers, litigants and others present on the court premises.
His current medical condition, the allegations against him and the claims of alleged mistreatment remain matters requiring independent verification.
