BANGLADESHI AUTHORITIES DETAIN STUDENT LEADERS IN HOSPITAL FOLLOWING NATIONWIDE PROTESTS

Sat 27 July 2024:

Bangladeshi authorities have removed three student leaders, who were organizing rallies against government job quotas, from a hospital following days of deadly protests, curfews, and communication blocks.

Officers forced the discharge of Nahid Islam, Abu Bakar Mazumdar, and Asif Mahmud from the Gonoshasthaya Kendra hospital in Dhaka on Friday. Initially, police denied detaining them, but Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan later stated, “They themselves were feeling insecure. They think that some people were threatening them.”

নিরাপত্তাজনিত কারণে' কোটা আন্দোলনের সমন্বয়ক আসিফ, নাহিদ ও বাকেরকে আটক করা হয়েছে: ডিবি | The Business Standard

From left Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud and Abu Bakr Mazumdar.

Khan did not confirm their formal arrest but mentioned, “We think for their own security they needed to be interrogated to find out who was threatening them. After the interrogation, we will take the next course of action.”

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Security forces also detained a hospital worker and confiscated phones belonging to Islam’s mother and wife, along with those of Mazumdar and Mahmud. The incident occurred shortly after an Al Jazeera team attempted to interview them.

Islam had previously expressed fears for his life after being taken and tortured. The protests, which began peacefully against a quota system reserving 30% of government jobs for families of 1971 independence fighters, turned violent, resulting in 150 deaths and thousands of arrests.

The Supreme Court recently reduced the quota to make 93% of jobs merit-based, and the government accepted the change. However, the violent crackdown led student leaders to demand a public apology from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the dismissal of several officials.

Despite a relaxation of curfews and partial restoration of internet and business activities, many restrictions remain. The economy continues to suffer from high inflation and youth unemployment.

Information Minister Mohammad Arafat suggested “third-party” actors, including “extremists and terrorists,” were exacerbating the unrest. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk and other UN experts have called for independent investigations into alleged human rights violations and the violent crackdown on protesters.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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