Conviction of MP Papul shameful for the country: foreign minister

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

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

Asked if the conviction, first of its kind for a Bangladeshi MP, tarnishes the image of the country, the minister said any criminal activity done by any Bangladeshi tarnishes the country's image.

On Thursday, a court in Kuwait 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.

Meanwhile, questions have risen over his membership in the parliament.

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

According to the law, if any MP is convicted for more than two years, there is a provision for cancelling his membership.

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

Momen said the Bangladesh government had sought information from the Kuwait government immediately after Papul's arrest, but the Kuwait government did not respond.

"Even so, the issue was also not (there) when I visited Kuwait late last year," he said.

Papul did not go to Kuwait as an MP neither did he have a diplomatic passport, but stayed there as a businessman, the foreign minister said.

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