Lawyers say a survey on corruption in the judiciary tarnishes the dignity of their profession
NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) –Transparency International officials have been summoned to appear before a Bangladeshi court, accused of defamation and tarnishing the image of the judiciary after publishing a report on corruption, the Daily Star reported on Monday.
The Berlin-based anti-graft watchdog’s household survey found that 88 percent of Bangladeshis who approached the judiciary for services from June 2009 to May this year faced corruption and harassment.
Eleven percent of those questioned who gained access to legal services had to pay bribes, according to the survey of 6,000 households published last week.
But lawyers in the country’s southeastern city of Chittagong have been angered by the study and have filed two cases against three senior members of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
The lawyers say the findings “tarnished the dignity of the profession of lawyers since they are also part of the judiciary”, according to the newspaper. One lawyer was quoted as saying the survey intended to “present Bangladesh as a failed state”.
But TIB Chairman Hafizuddin Khan - one of the accused - said the report was not designed to demean any individual, adding that the survey was conducted using established procedures of social science research, which are followed by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
“Statistics is a science. And the survey represents what the people have told us. It is in no way connected with the concept of disgrace,” Khan was quoted as saying.
“It is a social movement against corruption. This is to make people and all stakeholders aware about corruption. Many other countries across the globe are doing this survey and Transparency International is also working worldwide to fight corruption."
Khan, TIB Executive Director Iftekhar Zaman and senior researcher Mohammad Wahid Alam have to appear before the court in January, the newspaper said.
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