Mushtaq’s Death in Jail, Protests continue
Protests continued on Monday for the fourth consecutive day demanding justice for the death of writer Mushtaq Ahmed in jail, scrapping the controversial Digital Security Act, an immediate release of the detained protesters in Dhaka and Khulna and those arrested under the Digital Security Act, including cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore.
Various organisations staged street protests in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country while the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and PEN Bangladesh in separate statements backed the demands.
Mushtaq, detained under the DSA in early May 2020 for his social media posts criticising the government and denied bail six times during his nine-month-long detention, died in the high-security Kashimpur jail on February 25 evening.
Different political, rights and student organisations have been protesting against the death of the writer and demanding repeal of the DSA since Friday.
Cartoonist Kishore, also a co-accused in the case, has been in jail also since his arrest in early May 2020.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in a news release on Monday urged the Bangladesh government to review the Digital Security Act and to release those detained under the act for exercising their rights to the freedoms of expression and opinion.
She also urged the authorities to ensure a proper investigation into the death of Mushtaq in custody in a prompt, transparent and independent manner.
PEN Bangladesh, a chapter of PEN International consisting of Bangladeshi writers, poets, publishers, editors, translators, journalists and academics, in a statement on Monday condemned Mushtaq’s death in jail and demanded the immediate formation of an independent and multilateral inquiry committee to find out the cause of his death and identify those responsible.
‘PEN Bangladesh also demands a review and eventual repeal of the Digital Security Act,’ said the statement signed by PEN Bangladesh president Syed Manzoorul Islam, secretary general Mohammad Moheuddin and publicity secretary Shakira Parvin.
News Courtesy:
https://www.newagebd.net/article/131466/protests-continue
