PEN Bangladesh condemns arrests of politicians, teachers, journalists

PEN Bangladesh has expressed deep concern over the arrest of 16 individuals, including former minister Latif Siddique, a professor at Dhaka University, Sheikh Hafizur Rahman, and journalist Manjurul Alam Panna, following their participation in a discussion organised by Moncho 71 on Thursday.

In a statement signed by the PEN Bangladesh executive committee members today, the organisation observed that the mob attack on the meeting at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity reflected an alarming rise in a culture of intimidation.

Instead of protecting the victims, police detained the speakers before the meeting and later filed charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act, accusing them of plotting to destabilise the country, it said.

"Such actions can be construed as a grave misuse of the law against citizens and their democratic rights to free speech and peaceful assembly. As an organisation committed to defending freedom of expression, PEN Bangladesh stresses that the right to speak and assemble, guaranteed by the Constitution, must not be criminalised," said the statement.

The use of anti-terror laws against political opponents, academics, and journalists only deepens divisions and diminishes faith in the rule of law, it added.

PEN Bangladesh urged the authorities to release the detainees immediately unless credible evidence of criminal activity is produced in a court of law.