Acting Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Maulana ATM Masum has issued the following statement on 28th July, 2024 urging to end persecution and remand and also to accept the logical demands of the students.

“The government has committed mass killings across the country by shooting students to thwart the peaceful anti-discrimination movement of the student community. The government used the state machinery to suppress this non-political movement and caused a bloodbath in the country. While, the people of all walks including the students, teachers, journalists, intellectuals are united against the mass killing of the government, they are arresting opposition leaders and activists indiscriminately in order to subside the public anger. In the last 11 days, more than 10 thousand people including juvenile students have been arrested across the country. Many are being taken from their homes and subsequently they became disappeared. Many of the arrested are being taken into police remand and subjected to physical and mental torture.

The government itself is ignoring the law. The High Court in 2003 gave a direction on police remand. According to the constitution, it is mandatory for the government, subordinate courts and all to comply with the judgments or directions of the Supreme Court. But the government is repeatedly violating this directive of the high court. Disregarding court orders, political party leaders are taken into police remand and subsequently, they are being made crippled. After meeting detained DUCSU’s former VP Nurul Haque Noor, his wife told reporters that Noor was subjected to inhuman torture. Those who had been arrested in healthy condition were consequently brought to court as completely sick and physically vulnerable. Former central president of Chhatrashibir, Hafez Rashedul Islam, had been arrested 8 days ago but finally the government staged a drama and showed him arrested on false charges on Saturday.

Government is frequently telling lies and breaking promises. It had been said from their part that no student would be arrested or harassed. The government has breached this promise and now they are harassing the students by arresting them in false cases. Torture is being carried out during police remand. The news of taking a 17-year-old juvenile into police remand has been published in national newspapers.

Acting Secretary General further said, the coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement were arrested from various hospital and taken to the DB office. Respected teachers of Dhaka University went to the DB office to inquire about those coordinators and tried to meet the DB head. At the reception of the DB office, the teachers introduced themselves to the police on duty and said, 'We are the teachers of Dhaka University and guardians of these students. We have come to know the condition of the students.' The DB chief left without meeting the respected teachers. His behavior is highly condemnable.

During the Prime Minister's visit to various establishments, she blamed Jamaat, Chhatrashibir and the opposition parties for the recent violence. She demanded justice from the people, 'What crime have I committed?' After shooting hundreds of people, asking 'What crime have I committed' is a cruel mockery of the victims and their families and 18 crore people of the country.

We further want to raise question that, what the officers assigned to the security of various establishments did that day? A number of national dailies reported that 117 policemen, led by a deputy commissioner of police were in charge of Bangladesh Television's security, had left the place instead of performing their duties. On the other hand, the report is coming out that the attack on Setu Bhaban (Bridge Building) has taken place due to internal feud of Awami League.

The leading intellectuals, politicians, columnists and eminent citizens of the country have clearly said that if the demands of the students were accepted on time, there would not have been any untoward situation in the country. The government said that 'Chhatra League is enough' to thwart the general student movement and then attacked the students by deploying their party cadres. Later, the law enforcers carried out mass killings in the country.

At present, the whole environment is heavy with the cries of people who have lost their children, their parents, their husbands and their classmates. And the government is continuing false campaign and propaganda centering this issue. They want to stop the logical movement of the students by arresting them indiscriminately.

We are calling for an end to mass arrests, severe torture and demanding immediate release of the detainees and the lifting of the curfew by accepting the demands of the students for restoring peaceful situation in the country. We appeal to students, teachers, journalists, intellectuals, lawyers, workers, professionals and political parties to come forward unitedly against the incumbent oppressor government who has committed mass killing across the country.”