Bangladeshi professionals abroad express concern over 'unconstitutional' arrest of BUET students
Bangladeshi academics and professionals abroad have expressed deep concern about the "unconstitutional" arrest of 34 students, including 24 from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), while they were on vacation in Tahirpur of Sunamganj.
In a joint statement endorsed by 32 signatories on Friday, they criticised the police's assertion that these students were involved in planning terrorist activities based solely on allegations of their affiliation with Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir, a student organisation connected to the political party Jamaat-e-Islami.
"While the victims' guardians assert that the victims had no involvement with the mentioned student organisation, we emphasise that arresting individuals on suspicion or confirmation of Chhatrashibir affiliation goes against Bangladesh's constitution, as long as Chhatrashibir remains a legitimate student body," the statement read.
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Commending the decision to grant bail to the students, they noted that anything less than the withdrawal of charges against them and compensation for the mental, physical, economic, academic, and other hardships they and their families have endured would be inadequate.
They also emphasised the right of people to peaceful political assembly and association. "Even if the allegations were true, those 34 individuals would still be victims," they argued.
They called for verification of whether the victims were genuinely associated with Chhatrashibir as a prerequisite for condemning this harassment case, which they view as a classic example of victim-blaming.
Among the signatories are Dr Mahfuzul Hasan, Assistant Professor at Philander Smith University, Little Rock, Arkansas; Dr. Mohammad Ahsanul Haque from Aarhus University, Denmark; Dr. Jubaer Mahmud, Analyst at Southern New Hampshire University; Dr. Abdul Aziz, Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at Monash University Malaysia; Dr. Md Nazmul Islam from the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, USA, and others.
