DHAKA: A Bangladesh court Wednesday rejected a rape case against World Cup hero Rubel Hossain, after police said there was no evidence against the star cricketer, lawyers said.
Film actress Naznin Akter Happy made the rape allegation in December last year, having also said the 25-year-old Rubel had reneged on a promise of marriage that he made while they were having an “intimate affair.”
Happy had told media in March that she was withdrawing the claims, one day after Rubel starred in a dramatic victory over England at the World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand. But she later pursued the case.
The 20-year-old filed a legal petition on Sunday against a police conclusion of no evidence of rape, prompting the court’s ruling on Wednesday, the latest twist in a saga that has gripped the conservative country.
Rubel’s lawyer Moniruzzaman Bhuiyan said the court ruling was based on the fact police found no evidence of semen on items in the cricketer’s apartment following the complaint.
“The items were collected from Rubel’s apartment after Happy lodged the complaint.”
“A forensic report also found no evidence of rape. So police had recommended that he be acquitted (of any charges),” he told AFP.
The allegation had threatened to scupper Rubel’s chances of appearing in the World Cup after he was remanded in custody in January by a Dhaka court.
He was later granted bail on “national interest” grounds, enabling him to play in the competition, where he took eight wickets that turned him into a national hero.
Happy’s lawyer said he would lodge an appeal against the decision.
“It seems the judge was swayed by the stature of the cricketer and not by the merit of the case,” Tuhin Hawlader told AFP.
Although victims of alleged rapes are usually entitled to anonymity, police waived reporting restrictions after Happy told the Bangladeshi media that she would drop the allegations if Rubel agreed to marry her.
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Bangladesh cricketer Rubel cleared of rape charges
Bangladesh cricketer Rubel cleared of rape charges
New START nuclear treaty ‘was flawed’: senior US official
- The New START treaty ended at the turn of the calendar on February 5
- Russia and the US together control more than 80 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads
GENEVA: A senior US official on Friday criticized the last nuclear treaty between Russia and the United States for failing to include Beijing, speaking at the United Nations a day after the New START deal expired.
“In a nutshell, New START was flawed,” said Thomas G. DiNanno, US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, pointing out that it had not covered all nuclear weapons, “and it didn’t include China.”
Speaking to reporters in Geneva before addressing the Conference on Disarmament, he said US President Donald Trump “has been pretty clear that he wants a better agreement,” and “clarified again last night that he wants a new treaty.”
“He’s been crystal clear. He’s been consistent on it too, since his first administration,” DiNanno said.
“So we’ll see how it plays out.”
Asked if China had agreed to anything, DiNanno said: “We’re always willing to talk to them.”
China said on Thursday it would not join nuclear talks “at this stage” after the treaty’s expiry that day triggered fears of a new global arms race.
Campaigners have warned that the expiry, which ended decades of restrictions on how many warheads Russia and the United States deploy, could encourage China to expand its own arsenal.
The New START treaty ended at the turn of the calendar on February 5, after Trump did not follow up on Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend warhead limits in the agreement for one year.
Russia and the United States together control more than 80 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads, but arms agreements have been withering away.
New START, first signed in 2010, limited each side’s nuclear arsenal to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads — a reduction of nearly 30 percent from the previous limit set in 2002.
It also allowed each side to conduct on-site inspections of the other’s nuclear arsenal, although these were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not resumed since.
The Conference on Disarmament negotiating forum, which is comprised of 65 member states and meets in Geneva.
“In a nutshell, New START was flawed,” said Thomas G. DiNanno, US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, pointing out that it had not covered all nuclear weapons, “and it didn’t include China.”
Speaking to reporters in Geneva before addressing the Conference on Disarmament, he said US President Donald Trump “has been pretty clear that he wants a better agreement,” and “clarified again last night that he wants a new treaty.”
“He’s been crystal clear. He’s been consistent on it too, since his first administration,” DiNanno said.
“So we’ll see how it plays out.”
Asked if China had agreed to anything, DiNanno said: “We’re always willing to talk to them.”
China said on Thursday it would not join nuclear talks “at this stage” after the treaty’s expiry that day triggered fears of a new global arms race.
Campaigners have warned that the expiry, which ended decades of restrictions on how many warheads Russia and the United States deploy, could encourage China to expand its own arsenal.
The New START treaty ended at the turn of the calendar on February 5, after Trump did not follow up on Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend warhead limits in the agreement for one year.
Russia and the United States together control more than 80 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads, but arms agreements have been withering away.
New START, first signed in 2010, limited each side’s nuclear arsenal to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads — a reduction of nearly 30 percent from the previous limit set in 2002.
It also allowed each side to conduct on-site inspections of the other’s nuclear arsenal, although these were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not resumed since.
The Conference on Disarmament negotiating forum, which is comprised of 65 member states and meets in Geneva.
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