55 Chittagong University teachers demand immediate release of arrested students

Fifty-five teachers from Chittagong University (CU) have issued a statement protesting the countrywide arrests of students in connection with the quota reform movement and demanded their immediate release.

In the statement issued by teachers from various departments of the university on Tuesday (30 July), they also called for punishment of those involved in the killings during the quota movement. 

The statement reads, "For some time now, the country has been experiencing extreme chaos centered on the justified quota reform movement. Brutal attacks on students have continued. Various media reports suggest that more than two hundred citizens, ranging from students to children to the elderly, have been killed so far. Alongside this, repression, harassment, lawsuits, and mass arrests are ongoing to suppress the movement."

"In this ongoing repression, it is known that three students from Chittagong University have been arrested. They are Al Masnun from the Department of French Language and Literature, Syham Mahmud from the Department of Drama, and Ramzan Sheikh from the Institute of Education and Research," they added. 

The teachers further said, "If our students have participated in the ongoing movement, they have done so as part of their democratic rights. They are not involved in any form of violence."

The teachers protested against all attacks, lawsuits, and mass arrests related to the movement and demanded the release of the arrested students. 

One of the signatories, Professor Kh Ali Ar Razi of the Department of Communication and Journalism at Chittagong University, said, "Our innocent students are being persecuted. They are being harassed through unnecessary detention and arrests. As teachers, we are standing by them at this moment, and we issued this statement to convey that. We will do everything to protect them."