Amnesty International expresses concern over Meghna Alam's detention

Amnesty International has expressed concern over the detention of actress and former Miss Earth Bangladesh winner Meghna Alam by police in plainclothes in Dhaka.

"Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the use of the Special Powers Act for the arrest of model Meghna Alam. The draconian legislation, with vague, overbroad provisions, has historically been used to arbitrarily detain people for long periods of time, without charge, and without judicial oversight," Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office said in a statement on X yesterday (12 April).

"These all constitute gross violations of due process safeguards and international human rights standards and best practices."

The statement further states, "As per media reports, Meghna's detention was shrouded in secrecy, and was allegedly carried out without a warrant, which are considered to be alarming violations of procedural safeguards."

Amnesty International called on the authorities to either charge Meghna with an internationally recognisable crime or release her.

"They must also end the use of and repeal the Special Powers Act," it said.

Ex-Miss Earth Bangladesh Meghna Alam detained for 'posing threat to public safety, law and order'

Meghna was detained from her residence in Dhaka's Bashundhara area around 5:00pm on Wednesday (9 April).

On the following day, she was sent to jail under a 30-day detention order issued under the Special Powers Act. The order was passed by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka around 10:00pm following a police petition.

Following the court's order, Meghna was transferred to Kashimpur Central Jail.

Recently, Meghna had posted on her official Facebook page claiming a foreign diplomat had been influencing the police to pick up people around her and threatening her not to reveal the "truth". The Facebook posts have since been deleted.