The six coordinators of the Student Against Discrimination Movement, who were taken into the custody for “security reasons” six days ago, have been released by the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
The six young students — Nahid Islam, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, Abu Baker Majumdar, Asif Mahmud and Nusrat Tabassum — came out of the DB office at the capital’s Minto Road with their family members at around 1:30pm on Thursday.
Talking to reporters, Nahid's father Badrul Islam said they family members of the six were called in the morning and asked to come to the DB office. All six of them were released and sent home on DB vehicles.
Rifat Rashid, one of the movement coordinators, confirmed their release through a post on Facebook in the afternoon as well.
Talking to reporters at the secretariat, Law Minister Anisul Huq also told reporters that the quota protest coordinators left DB office in the afternoon.
“It is true that they had sought security from us. A GD was also filed in this regard. Now they say they do not need security anymore. When they expressed their desire to leave, we did not stop them. They have gone,” he said.
The DB took the six key coordinators into custody on July 27, 28 and 29.
Last Sunday, DMP Additional Deputy Commissioner Harun-or-Rashid, who was transferred from the DB chief’s position on Wednesday, said the coordinators were detained for “security reasons.”
In a video message released while under police custody, Nahid had announced the withdrawal of their protest programme on Sunday night.
The coordinators not under police custody moved quickly to assure the movement’s supporters that this was to be expected, and they agreed beforehand to reject or disregard any statement they or their fellow coordinators made while under police custody. Effectively the accused was coerced into making this statement under duress.
Later, a photo of the coordinators at a dining table eating with Harun was posted on Harun’s Facebook page, followed shortly by the release of Nahid’s video message.
Despite this announcement, other coordinators of the quota movement from different universities including Dhaka University issued statements vowing to continue their protests until their nine-point demands were met.
Students Against Discrimination staged nationwide rallies against civil service job quotas last month that ended in a police crackdown and the deaths of at least 206 people, according to an AFP count of police and hospital data.
The group's leadership were among thousands picked up in the police dragnet that followed some of the worst unrest of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15-year tenure.
The government restored order after deploying troops, imposing a curfew and shutting down the mobile internet network across the country of 170 million for 11 days.
Over 10,000 people were arrested in the wake of the unrest, according to media reports.
Small and scattered protests resumed in cities around the country in the past two days after other coordinators of the movement ended a moratorium on demonstrations, reports AFP.
Demonstrations broke out last month over the reintroduction of a quota scheme — since scaled back by the Supreme Court — that reserved more than half of all government jobs for certain groups.
With around 18 million young Bangladeshis out of work, according to government figures, the move deeply upset graduates facing an acute employment crisis.
The protests last month had remained largely peaceful until attacks on demonstrators by police and pro-government student groups.
Ministers have accused opposition parties of stirring up unrest, which saw arson and vandalism attacks by crowds against government buildings and dozens of police posts.
