The "Bikkhubdho Nagorik Somaj" has issued an ultimatum demanding the unconditional release of six coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement from the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police within 24 hours.
Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), made the declaration on behalf of civil society at a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU) at noon. The press conference was organised under the banner "Justice for Murder, Illegal Detention, and Torture."
The TIB chief announced that if the six coordinators are not released within 24 hours, the agitated civil society will stage a protest in front of the DB office.
During the press conference, 11 demands were presented on behalf of the angry civil society. They called for investigations into every incident of casualties and the use of weapons and force by law enforcement agencies under the supervision of high-level experts from the United Nations.
Prominent figures such as Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), Professor Gitiara Nasreen of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism at Dhaka University, Professor Asif Nazrul of the Department of Law at Dhaka University, and human rights activist Shireen Haque were present at the press conference.
Last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, seven coordinators of the quota reform movement were picked up. They are Dhaka University students Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, Abu Bakar Majumder, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, and Nusrat Tabassum, along with Jahangirnagar University branch coordinator Arif Sohel. According to the DB, they were taken into custody for their safety.
Except for Arif Sohel, the remaining six coordinators announced the withdrawal of all programs of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement in a video message on Sunday night. After this news was published, several other coordinators expressed dissent in a statement later that night.
