Police's surveillance on political activities, body and mobile phone searches of citizens to suppress the opposition and dissent is against democracy and human rights, said 24 eminent citizens in a statement yesterday.

They strongly condemned the government's suppression of the rally organised by the BNP in Dhaka on December 10.

"The right to assembly is our constitutional fundamental right. We urge the government to refrain from violating these rights. We demand the government to refrain from repression and torture against the leaders and workers of the opposition parties," they said.

They also demanded the immediate release of BNP leaders and activists who have been arrested without proper evidence.

BNP has been organising meetings and gatherings across the country over various demands including free and fair elections for the last several months. These meetings and gatherings were peaceful despite various obstacles and incitement by the government.

"We believe that the incident of killing one person and injuring many others during the preparatory meeting of BNP, arresting and filing cases against BNP leaders and activists including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and police attack on BNP office are gross violations of the right to freedom of speech and assembly."

The 24 signatories include M Hafizuddin Khan, former adviser of the caretaker government; human rights activist Hameeda Hossain; Zafrullah Chowdhury, founder of Gonoshasthaya Kendra; Ali Imam Majumder, former cabinet secretary; economist Anu Muhammad; Bangladesh Supreme Court lawyers Shahdeen Malik, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, and Subrata Chowdhury; Badiul Alam Majumder, secretary of Shujan; photographer Shahidul Alam; Asif Nazrul, professor of Dhaka University; and human rights activist Nur Khan, among others.

VIOLATION OF PRIVACY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL: ASK

Meanwhile, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) yesterday condemned the police and ruling party men's checking of pedestrians' mobile phones during the recent BNP mass rally in Dhaka.

In a statement, ASK said that they received numerous allegations that the police violated pedestrians' privacy by searching through the contents of their phones including photos, messages and call lists.

"It was discovered from media reports that police searched people's phones attempting to find out if they were attending the BNP rally," read the statement.

According to media reports, the activists of Sir AF Rahman Hall Chhatra League stopped pedestrians and interrogated them.

Quoting the reports, the statement said: "The Chhatra League activists detained 12 pedestrians and handed them over to the police in two phases. They allegedly assaulted some of them as well."

"The police, Chhatra League men, and the ruling party's leaders and activists were accused of harassing the public in Gazipur among other areas," it added.

Privacy is one of the fundamental rights of an individual recognised by the constitution, ASK said, adding that mobile phones contain personal messages and photos and searching through these is a gross violation of privacy.

Actions that violate someone's privacy are unconstitutional and directly attack their dignity and self-respect, the statement added.