Democratic Student Council, a student organisation formed with the leaders and activists of various left-leaning student organizations, on Thursday demonstrated at the Dhaka University campus demanding the release of Prothom Alo journalist Shamsuddin Shams.
They brought out a protest procession from the Madhur Canteen of Dhaka University around 12:30pm which ended at Raju Sculpture and then they held a rally on its premises around 12:45pm.
Their other demands include abolishing the DSA act, stopping extrajudicial killings, and justice for Sultana Jesmin who died allegedly under RAB custody.
Dilip Roy, general secretary of Biplopi Chhatra Maitri, said, “The journalist was picked up in the early morning when people were sleeping. Our promise is that we will fight with our last drop of blood against the government.”
Mitu Sarkar, president of Bangladesh Chhatra Federation, said, “The act of abducting people and preventing the protesting voices by using DSA and detaining them in civil dress is the clear sign of a fascist government. We all have to stand against such activities.”
Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, working in Savar near the capital Dhaka, was picked up from his house in the Ambagan area near Jahangirnagar University in the early hours of Wednesday morning by the CID allegedly for publishing fake and fabricated news. Later he was sued under DSA on the same day and a Dhaka court sent him to jail on Thursday rejecting his bail plea.
