An 87 -year -old minister was among the 16 people ordered by a Bangladesh court on Friday to be detained in custody for charges to consign against the government, police said.
The nation of southern Asia has been in agitation since a massive lifting demolished the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina in 2024, with political parties that compete for power before the elections scheduled for February.
The 16 were arrested Thursday after attending a meeting in Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), an association of journalists, where they accused the political parties of conspiracy to undermine the Constitution.
The witnesses said that a mafia assaulted the place, told the participants and then handed them over to the police.
“They were arrested under the anti -terrorism law,” said Khalid Mansur, an officer in charge of the Dhaka Central Police Station.
Among those celebrated was Abdul Latif Siddiqui, a former Minister Bajo Hasina. The police told the Court that the defendant was “incubating conspiracies and inciting the disturbances to destabilize the country and overthrow the government.”
Hafizur Rahman Karzon, professor of law at the University of Dhaka, was also among the detainees.
In the court on Friday, where the group was taken handcuffed, helmets and bulletproof vests, he said they were victims, not criminals. Another of the detainees, journalist Manjurul Alam, raised his arms and said: “These hands have written against corruption for years.”
Abu Saleh Akan and Mainul Hasan Sohel, president and secretary of DRU, said that “freedom of expression is a fundamental right of each citizen.”
