‘Abrar killing a cruel attack on freedom of speech’

The Committee for the Protection of Fundamental Rights has termed the killing of Buet student Abrar Fahad as a cruel attack on the freedom of speech and said the government and the university administration cannot avoid their responsibilities.

“The ruthless killing of Abrar is an outcome of the evil culture of curbing dissident opinion, criminalisation of politics, lack of justice and impunity,” the platform of the country’s eminent citizens said in a statement today.

A total of 23 eminent personalities including Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Dr Shahdeen Malik, Advocate of Bangladesh Supreme Court, Pro Asif Nazrul, Prof CR Abrar, Prof Parwin Hasan, Syeda Rezwan Hasan, Prof Shahnaz Huda, Sara Hossain, Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua and Prof Rehnuma Ahmed signed the statement.

In the statement, the platform observed that the people’s constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression are being hindered gradually.

Casting their confusion over the fair trial of the Abrar murder, the eminent citizens said they are worried as the trial of most of the university-based killing incidents did not hold properly.

They expect that the law enforcement agencies would complete the investigation into the case properly and submit charge sheet against the real perpetrators within shortage possible time ignoring fluence from any quarter.

They also urged the judiciary to remain alert so that the real accused of the case cannot escape the trial due to the negligence of the law enforcement agencies and the prosecution.

In the past few years, several cases were lodged for exercising the constitution guaranteed rights to express thought and speech independently while the people who expressed dissenting opinions were also harassed in the name of protecting the image of the country, they said.

The freedom of expressing dissident opinion have been extinct by enacting Digital Security Act 2018, they said in the statement.

Claiming that Abrar has been killed due to the unconstitutional stance of the student wing of the ruling Awami League, the platform called upon the ruling quarter to stay aside from imposing all sorts of barriers on the way of freedom of speech.

Abrar, a second-year student of electrical and electronic engineering department of Buet, died after he was brutally beaten allegedly by some Chhatra League men at Sher-e-Bangla hall of the university on early hours of October 7.

The incident triggered a firestorm of protests on campuses across the country. Many took to social media to demand justice for Abrar.

Law enforcers suspect Abrar was attacked because of one of his recent Facebook posts, which seemed critical of some recent deals with India.

Amid protest on the campus, Buet authorities October 11 banned all political activities on the campus and suspended 19 students, mostly leaders of the university’s BCL unit, accused in Abrar Fahad killing case.