Six coordinators of the Student Movement Against Discrimination, who were held in custody by the Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police for days without any charges, vowed on Friday to continue their protests, seeking justice for the killing of unarmed people.
The six coordinators鈥擭ahid Islam, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, Asif Mahmud, Nusrat Tabassum, and Abu Baker Mojumder鈥攚ere released on Thursday after they were detained by聽 police in plainclothes between July 26 and July 27 in the wake of violent student protests that left over 200 dead and thousands聽 injured in July.
鈥楾he programme of the Student Movement Against Discrimination will continue demanding the trial of student-citizen murders and the release of detained innocent people,鈥� the six coordinators said in a joint statement a day after their release.
Police claimed that they had kept the student leaders in their custody to give them security, but the six coordinators said that they had never sought any protection from police and were rather detained 鈥榰nconstitutionally and unlawfully.鈥�
鈥榃e sought safety and security from disappearance, arrest, and torture. We wanted a guarantee of our right to express our opinion. But we were detained in DB custody unconstitutionally and unlawfully,鈥� they said.
鈥楴o one is safe in the custody of those who shoot and kill unarmed student-citizens. We do not want security for this farce from the government. We want justice for the murder of our brothers and sisters,鈥� they added.
The student leaders said that they had been staging a hunger strike since July 30, but it was kept secret from their families.
The students said that they were forced to sit at the dining table and videoed. Their families were called and made to wait for 13 hours with assurances that they would be released, and false statements were made to the media.
On Sunday, the six detained student leaders issued a joint statement from custody announcing the withdrawal of the protest. The six student leaders said that they did not give the statement voluntarily.
鈥楴o decision of the Student Movement Against Discrimination can come from the DB office,鈥� they said in the statement.
DB earlier rejected the allegations of their fellow students, who accused officials of the security agency of forcing their leaders to issue a 鈥榮cripted statement at gunpoint.鈥�
Students returned to the streets on Monday after a gap of eight days, continuing their protests in various forms, including covering their faces and eyes with red ribbons, marching towards courts, and remembering their heroes, both online and offline.
The protests continued on Friday as students and people from a cross-section of society staged processions in different parts of the country, seeking justice for the killings and an end to arrests and other harassment.
The government launched a crackdown on protesting students and opposition political parties after the violent protests in July, arresting over 10,000 people in a special drive over the past week, including students, leaders, and activists of opposition political parties.
