A section of citizens under the banner of ‘Bikkhubdha Nagarik Samaj’ on Tuesday issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the authorities concerned demanding release of six leaders of the quota reform student movement who were in the custody of the Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police for days.
At a press conference in the capital’s Dhaka Reporters Unity, the citizens also declared that if the leaders were not released unconditionally they would announce tougher programmes.
Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association chief executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Naripokkho cofounder Shireen Huq, Dhaka University professor Asif Nazrul and Association for Land Reform and Development executive director Shamsul Huda, among others, were present at the press conference.
The citizens also made an 11-point demand, including ensuring highest punishment for those involved in the killing, regardless of what position they hold and irrespective of their political identities.
They said that the oppression on protesting students was the worst ever at least in the past 100 years, when hundreds of people were killed and injured.
They observed that the government agencies exercised unlawful power that violated the constitutional rights of citizens.
Their demands also included proper and transparent probes and bringing those members of the police, Rapid Action Ballalion, Ansars, Border Guard Bangladesh, as well as activists of the Chhatra League, and Juba League, who fired shots during the quota reform protests, to justice.
They also demanded an independent, acceptable and credible probe under high-level specialist team of the United Nations into every killing, and law enforcers’ use of weapons and application of force.
Besides, they also demanded that all the arrested students should be freed immediately, and all drives to arrest students should be ended as well as all educational institutions reopened.
In his speech, Asif Nazrul said that the government agencies were arresting students detecting injury marks on the body.
He said that mourning was a mockery with the people who were killed because none of their killers were arrested.
Iftekharuzzaman asked the government to arrest the people who shot at unarmed people on roads and even at their homes.
Shamsul Huda said that what they could not do for their children as guardians the children took to the streets to do that.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan also called on the government to release all the innocent people detained following the protests and launch investigation under an expert committee of the United Nations.
The citizens also asked the government to open the internet fully and not to interfere with media freedom.
The Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has kept six coordinators of the Students Movement Against Discrimination, a quota reform platform, in its custody up to four days since Friday.
The coordinators are Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, Abu Baker Mazumdar, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah and another coordinator Nusrat Tabassum.