False reports damaged Mamun more than 17-and-a-half years in prison
Businessman Gias Uddin Al Mamun displayed deep respect and loyalty to Zia family even when he was confined to jails for more than 17-and-a-half years under unbearable torture.
He remained firm in his stand and refrained from making any adverse comment about Zia family especially, about Tarique Rahman despite the ruthless targeted political and personal attacks, during the tenure of Awami League government.
Gias Uddin Al Mamun remained in prison for over 17-and-a-half years in various cases after his arrest in 2007. He was released on bail in the cases filed against him recently and emerged out of jail on August 6, 2024.
He told some of his close ones that in comparison to 17-and-a-half years of torture in jails, nothing else could have made him feel angrier than the reports in media misrepresenting his statements.
He reminded them that in spite of the torture and misery he had endured, he had never made any adverse comment about Zia family or BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman. However, there were reports in the media in his name which made him more angry than his 17 years of prison term.
Sources said that in different instances and at different times, there were reports in dailies misrepresenting his statements about Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. The mudslinging started during the term of caretaker government of Fakhruddin Ahmed and Moeen U Ahmed after 1/11 and it accelerated when the new government of ousted Sheikh Hasina took over the charge.
It was being felt that Gias Uddin Al Mamun’s name was dragged in different media forums with an objective to tarnish the image of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, a senior BNP leader, and the reports were fabricated to show that he was involved in different scandals. However, the person in prison had nothing to do with such reports.
Close ones of Mamun said if the government of Sheikh Hasina could have made him say anything adverse about the BNP’s senior-most leader and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, would it have kept him confined to jails for 17 years?
Why would he make such bizarre statements?
His close ones said that he had nothing to do with the Prime Minister, as he never maintained any business relation with him, and the allegations of money laundering levelled against him were baseless. They said that the allegations of money laundering had already been proved baseless in the court of law and why should he make any absurd statements against the Prime Minister? However, after the change in government in 2006, Gias Uddin Al Mamun turned out to be one of the most discussed personalities in the country.
He faced relentless political and personal persecution till 2024.
People close to him said that the relationship between Mamun and Tarique Rahman was deliberately projected to create political vendetta by the 1/11 caretaker government and the later government of ousted Hasina. His lawyers said that 22 cases were filed against him in the country’s different courts as part of the alleged vendetta.
The High Court in November 2024 canceled his three-year sentence in a corruption case and acquitted him. His three-year prison term was imposed for accumulating wealth beyond his means. In December 2024, the Appellate Division upheld the High Court’s verdict to cancel his conviction in this case. The conviction of his wife Shahina Yasmin in the same case was also canceled.
His conviction was canceled and he was acquitted but the time served in prison contributed significantly to the agony of being away from his children and family for almost two decades.
In another significant turn in his long drawn legal battle, the money laundering case in which he was sentenced to seven years in prison was also canceled. In December 2024, the High Court canceled his seven-year prison term and acquitted him. Later, the Appellate Division also acquitted Tarique Rahman and Mamun in this case.
In the case relating to purchasing arms, the High Court in January 2025 canceled the ten-year prison term imposed on him by the lower court and acquitted him. His lawyer argued that the allegations made against Mamun in this case were baseless as they were not proved in the court.
In other words, the cases in which he was given long jail terms were completely different when he walked out of the prison.
His close ones said that his relationship with Tarique Rahman made him subjected to relentless political and legal harassment for long years. They said that the objective was to put him through relentless social and legal harassment so that he could make adverse comments about Tarique Rahman. However, according to them, the Hasina government failed to induce him to make any adverse comment against the BNP symbol and the Prime Minister, and it was for this reason that the businessman was confined to jails for such a long period of time. Seventeen and half years.
That long-drawn time may be counted in thousands of days or months in the calendars but it is also equivalent to nearly two decades. It is a period in life when a person can become old or retire from work; someone can complete studies or start a family or witness a child’s birth and growing years.
It is a period of turning point in the life of every individual. However, for Gias Uddin Al Mamun, these years went by when he was confined to narrow prison cells without any physical contact or emotional bonding with his family members. He was also away when his mother Mosammat Halima Khatun breathed her last in September 2019. He was released on a temporary basis for a few hours when his mother died.
The pain of not being able to remain with one’s mother till her last moment can never be compensated on this earth.
There may not be two such individuals in the history of politics who shared an affectionate and lasting relationship despite all odds. Political power dynamics may change and different parties’ leaders may rise and fall, but the relationships between a few individuals remain intact. Gias Uddin Al Mamun and Tarique Rahman is one such example.
People close to Mamun said that though he had undergone the ordeal of different political governments and long prison terms, nothing could deter his bond or affection towards Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. That is why BNP activists and workers regard him as a “loyal and tested soldier”.
When he walked out of the prison after 17-and-a-half years, his age, family status and all other physical appearances had changed but one thing was same; his love and devotion for the BNP.
Everything in the life of Gias Uddin Al Mamun turns out to be a matter of history. The court verdicts will continue to be part of the history as he was first convicted and then acquitted in different cases. The fact that he spent almost 17 years in prison after being convicted but later on, his convictions were canceled in several cases is also a part of the history.