MP Papul’s Conviction: Sad, shameful

 Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen yesterday said the conviction of lawmaker Mohammad Shahid Islam alias Kazi Papul is a matter of sadness and shame for the country.

"He is not an Awami League lawmaker. He is independent lawmaker. But it is sad and shameful," he told journalists after inaugurating Bangabandhu Diplomatic Tennis Tournament at the State Guesthouse Meghna.

Asked if the conviction of a Bangladeshi MP abroad, first of its kind, for crimes like bribery, human trafficking and money laundering, tarnishes the image of the country, the minister said any criminal act committed by any Bangladeshi tarnishes the image. "It is shameful."

On Thursday, a Kuwaiti court sentenced Papul, an independent lawmaker from Laxmipur-2, to four years in prison and fined him 1.97 million Kuwaiti dinars (around Tk 55 crore) in a bribery case.

He admitted to bribing millions of Kuwaiti dinars to Kuwaiti officials for securing work visas unlawfully and getting job contracts for his company Marafie Kuwaitia Group where he held the position of managing director and CEO.

On June 6 last year, Kuwait's Criminal Investigation Department arrested the MP. After holding the trial for about eight months, he was convicted by a criminal court. However, he has the scope for appeal.

Meanwhile, questions have been raised about his membership of parliament.

Foreign Minister Momen said, "We have already instructed our ambassador in Kuwait to collect the official documents of the conviction. Once we have it in our hand, we will provide it to parliament. The parliament will take actions as per the law."

According to law, if any MP is jailed for more than two years, his membership will be cancelled.

"As per our conversation with our ambassador in Kuwait, there are three cases against Papul over bribery, human trafficking and money laundering. He was convicted in one case. Two more cases are still pending trial," the minister said.

Momen said the Bangladesh government had sought information from Kuwait government immediately after Papul's arrest, but the Kuwait government did not respond. "The issue was also not discussed when I visited Kuwait late last year."

Papul did not go to Kuwait as an MP, and he did not have a diplomatic passport either. He stayed there as a businessman, the minister added.

He said Bangladesh and Kuwait have a very strong diplomatic relationship and it would not be hampered due to this issue.