PEN Bangladesh condemns arrests of politicians, teachers and journalists
Such actions can be construed as a grave misuse of the law against citizens and their democratic rights to free speech and peaceful assembly, the organisation argues
PEN Bangladesh has expressed deep concern over the arrest of 16 individuals, including former minister Abdul Latif Siddique, Dhaka University's Professor Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Karzon and journalist Manjurul Alam Panna, following their participation in a discussion organised by Mancha 71 last week.
In a statement dated 30 August, signed by the PEN Bangladesh Executive Committee members, the organisation said the mob attack on the meeting at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) reflects an alarming rise in a culture of intimidation.
"Instead of protecting the victims, police detained the speakers before the meeting and later filed charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act, accusing them of plotting to destabilise the country," said the Bangladesh chapter of PEN International.
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Such actions can be construed as a grave misuse of the law against citizens and their democratic rights to free speech and peaceful assembly, the organisation argued.
PEN Bangladesh added that as an organisation committed to defending freedom of expression, it stresses that the right to speak and assemble, guaranteed by the constitution, must not be criminalised.
"The use of anti-terror laws against political opponents, academics and journalists only deepens divisions and diminishes faith in the rule of law," it said, urging the authorities to release the detainees immediately unless credible evidence of criminal activity is produced in a court of law.
On Thursday (28 August), 16 people, including former textiles and jute minister Abdul Latif Siddique and Prof Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Karzon, were arrested and subsequently sent to jail in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
They are accused of "conspiring to oust the interim government" during a roundtable titled "Our Great Liberation War and the Constitution of Bangladesh," organised by Mancha 71.
