After the death of Bangladeshi writer Mushtaq Ahmed in prison till now 13 Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (student wing of Bangladesh Nationalist Party) men were on a 5-day remand over clash with police at the Jatyia Press Club (JPC), while the court also sent seven protesters to jail in following another clash between policemen in Shahbagh.
Earlier on March 1, A Dhaka court placed 13 JCD men on a 5-day remand over a clash with police at National Press Club on February 28.
The remanded activists are- Manjurul Alam, Ataur Rahman, Masud Rana, Shafiqul Islam, Shahiraj, Ahsan Habib Bhuiyan Raju, Kabir Hossain, Monowar Islam, Ariful Haque, Anichur Rahman, Khandaker Anik, Abu Hayat Md. Zulfiqar, Atif Morshed and Ramzan. Besides, 200-250 anonymous people have been accused in this case. Attempt to murder, attack and vandalism charges have been brought against the accused Chhatra Dal men.
Earlier, in another incident police sued the seven detained protesters along with 150 unnamed others with 10 charges, including attempted murder of cops, following a clash between policemen in Shahbagh during a torch procession in this regard on February 26.
The seven accused are - Md Tamjid Haider (22), Nozir Amir Chowdhury Joy (27), ASM Tanjimur Rahman (22), Md Akib Ahmed (22), Md Arafat Saad (24), Nazifa Jannat (24) and Joyoti Chakravarty (23).
Later on February 27, a Dhaka court sent them to jail and granted their interrogation by police at the jail gate.
According to the case statement, around 100 to 150 people led by the seven accused brought out a torch procession from Dhaka University's TSC. Besides, the protesters tried to move towards Shahbagh, halting the traffic movement.
Earlier on March 2, UN's top human rights official Michelle Bachelet called for transparent investigation into the death in custody of a writer in Bangladesh and review of the Digital Security Act (DSA), under which he was charged. The authorities announced they will investigate his death, according to a news release by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Monday.
Earlier on February 28, Fifty-one eminent Bangladeshi citizens demanded a judicial probe into Mushtaq’s death in prison. Besides, they have also asked for the probe report to be made public.
In Bangladesh, eight people died in jail custody in the first month of 2021, said rights watchdog Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) in its recent report.
Altogether 75 people died in jail custody in Bangladesh from January to December in the previous year, said ASK.
Of them, 45 were under-trial prisoners and the rest were serving jail terms after conviction, ASK’s data revealed. Jails in Dhaka division saw the highest 39 deaths in custody. Of them, 22 were in the jail while trial proceedings in the cases were going against the others in the court, the rights body said in the report.
Mushtaq, detained for nearly a year ago over social media posts that were critical of the country’s government, has died on February 25 in the high-security Kashimpur jail in Gazipur district. Writer Mushtaq was arrested on May 6 last year under the Digital Security Act (DSA), a 2018 law that gives the government wide-ranging powers to search, fine and arrest anyone who violates its vague tenets.
nh/wi
