DHAKA: An 87-year-old former minister was among 16 people ordered by a Bangladesh court Friday to be detained in custody on charges of plotting against the government, police said.
The South Asian nation has been in turmoil since a mass uprising toppled Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic government in 2024, with political parties vying for power ahead of elections scheduled for February.
The 16 were arrested on Thursday after attending a meeting at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), a journalists’ association, where they accused political parties of conspiring to undermine the constitution.
Witnesses said a mob stormed the venue, heckled the participants, and later handed them over to the police.
“They were arrested under the anti-terrorism act,” said Khalid Mansur, officer-in-charge of Dhaka’s central police station.
Among those held was Abdul Latif Siddiqui, a former minister under Hasina. Police told the court that the accused were “hatching conspiracies and inciting unrest to destabilise the country and topple the government”.
Hafizur Rahman Karzon, a law professor at the University of Dhaka, was also among those detained.
In court on Friday — where the group was taken in handcuffs, helmets, and bulletproof vests — he said that they were victims, not offenders. Another of the detained, journalist Manjurul Alam, raised his arms and said: “These hands have written against corruption for years”.
Abu Saleh Akan and Mainul Hasan Sohel, the president and secretary of DRU, said that “freedom of expression is a fundamental right of every citizen”.
Araç arızalarında en çok tercih edilen Bafra çekici hizmetidir. Bafra oto yol yardım, yakıt bitmesi, lastik patlaması veya motor arızalarında devreye girer. Bafra oto kurtarma, araç taşımasında güven sağlar. Bafra oto yol yardım, müşterilerine kesintisiz hizmet verir.