Bangladesh court sends former secretary Shafiqul Islam to jail

Dhaka: A Bangladesh court has sent former secretary Bhuiyan Mohammad Shafiqul Islam to prison in connection with a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, local media reports.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ariful Islam issued the order rejecting Bhuiyan’s bail petition after police produced him before the court following his arrest on Tuesday.

According to defence lawyer Mohammad Liton Miah, the magistrate on Tuesday also dismissed the bail petition of another former secretary, Abu Alam Md Shahid Khan, who was arrested in the same case on Monday.

This came after the arrest of 16 people, including former minister and freedom fighter Abdul Latif Sidiqqui and Dhaka University Professor Sheikh Hafizur Rahman, under the Anti-Terrorism Act, sparking outrage across the country.

Confirming the development, Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Tuesday said Bhuiyan was taken into custody over their alleged involvement in the recently organised event by the platform ‘Mancha 71’ at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), reports leading Bangladeshi media outlet bdnews 24.

The case stems from an event on August 28 when Siddiqui, Rahman, and others participated in a roundtable discussion, titled ‘Our Great Liberation War and the Constitution of Bangladesh’, organised by Mancha 71.

“We are witnessing that an ill attempt is going on to throw away the country’s constitution. Jamaat (Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami), Shibir (Islami Chhatra Shibir) and National Citizen Party (NCP) are behind this. Led by Muhammad Yunus, they have been humiliating freedom fighters with garlands of shoes,” Bangladesh’s leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo quoted Dhaka University professor Rahman as saying during the discussion.

Following Rahman’s speech, a group of people entered the DRU auditorium with a procession, tore down the roundtable banner, and confined the participants inside, before handing them over to the police.

According to the case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act at Shahbagh Police Station, the accused allegedly attempted to destabilise the country through armed struggle during the roundtable discussion organised by Mancha 71, Bangladesh’s leading daily, The Business Standard reported.

These latest developments come amid the ongoing crackdown on Awami League leaders and the activists associated with the party, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.

Recently, the Bangladesh Awami League condemned the arrest of “heroic” freedom fighters and those inspired by the spirit of the country’s 1971 Liberation War through mob terrorism under the Yunus regime.

IANS