Following the safe return of her husband from the captivity of kidnappers, BELA chief Syeda Rizwana Hasan yesterday expressed concerns about the security of her family members, but added that she will not end her involvement with the pro-environment organisation as a result of the incident.
“It is not right that by getting scared over of the abduction of my husband, I should roll up my activities with BELA. They [kidnappers] did it as an attempt to stop me from my activities,” said the chief executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) while addressing a press briefing at her residence in the capital’s Central Road.
“None of my family members are now feeling secure. We all need proection,” she claimed.
Replying to a query, she said, “It could not conclusively be said why my husband had been kidnapped. Besides, everything that we know should not be disclosed to the media for the sake of the investigation.
“I am not willing to say what I have told the law enforcers; but it can be said that they [abductors] are powerful and influential,” she added.
Expressing gratitude to the people of the country, the media, the law enforcement agencies and the government, Rizwana alleged that all abductions in the country do not receive the same level of attention or priority, although every incident of abduction is a crime.
The BELA chief said her husband would not have been abducted if the kidnappers – who had committed similar abductions in the past – had been tried for their crimes. She said the abduction of her husband should be the last of such incidents in the country.
When asked about one of her remarks on searching for torture cells in Narayanganj to find her husband, Rizwana said she had no personal contact with Shamim Osman, a local ruling party lawmaker who had alleged links to such torture cells.
Rizwana also claimed that no one had demanded any ransom for her husband’s freedom, although the kidnappers had reportedly discussed the possible amount among themselves.
At the press briefing, her husband Abu Bakar Siddique also answered different queries from the media.
Describing his release, Siddique said, “One of them [kidnappers] told me they had no benefit in releasing or killing me.”
He also said the kidnappers were aged around 35 years and had stout bodies and were around five-feet-seven-inches in height.
A gang of seven to eight armed criminals abducted Siddique from Fatullah on Wednesday afternoon, and released him in the capital’s Mirpur after more than 30 hours after his abduction.