Bangladesh, long been called a secular Muslim-majority nation, has seen a surge of terrorist atrocities over the past couple of months. Several secular bloggers, academics, and religious minorities have been hacked to death by radical believers.
But, on the night of July 1, it was taken to a different height, when five terrorists laid siege to an upscale restaurant in the diplomatic area of the country’s capital, Dhaka.
When the 11-hour bloody siege ended with the co-ordinated effort of police and army, the death toll was a staggering 29 (including 20 of the hostages). The so-called Islamic State was quick to claim the responsibility for the attack, and uploaded the pictures of the gunmen.
The law enforcing agency managed to rescue 13 of the hostages from Holey Artisan Bakery on the morning of July 2.
Tahmid Hasib Khan, a full-time final year student of Global Health at the University of Toronto, made it out alive against all odds. What seemed to be the luckiest day of his life when his life was spared soon turned out to be a bureaucratic nightmare.
On the morning of July 2, Tahmid and Hasnat, along with the other survivors were taken to police’s Detective Branch office for further investigation. Hostages who survive such incidents are usually rushed to hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
Tahmid Hasib Khan made it out alive against all odds. What seemed to be the luckiest day of his life when his life was spared soon turned out to be a bureaucratic nightmare
Not only were they denied of that treatment, police detained the duo for being present at the wrong place at the wrong time. Hadn’t they already experienced enough trauma on one night, that most of us wouldn’t go through in a lifetime? Perhaps not.
They are still going through the prolonged investigation that followed afterwards, as though making it out alive was a crime itself.
To make the investigation even more ridiculous, on August 4, the authorities claimed to arrest them. Most of you who closely followed the news probably know that they were never released in the first place.
So why stage the drama? Is this a standard practice for the police to concoct shams to deceive the general population? What were they trying to achieve? Mockery?
During the time of his detention, Tahmid was not allowed to meet his parents, or given access a lawyer, or presented to a magistrate after the legal detention period was over. Nobody there even reminded him of his right to refuse to answer any questions in case of self-incrimination -- all these lead to a clear violation of basic human rights.
Given the long history of human rights violations by the Bangladesh police, Tahmid’s parents couldn’t be absolutely sure of their son’s well-being. Their worry skyrocketed when they heard an injured Holey Artisan Bakery staff member died in police custody.
“The Bangladeshi authorities have a poor track record when it comes to human rights in custody, with violations including torture and other ill-treatment, often to obtain confessions and the denial of medical treatment,” said Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director.
Through the courtesy of social media, the FreeTahmid movement gained great momentum. Tens of thousands of people showed solidarity with Tahmid and demanded his release.
But, when the pictures of Tahmid holding a gun surfaced over the local newspapers, people who were not up-to-date with the stories (or who simply lacked the ability to think critically) joined the bandwagon to sabotage the effort of the movement.
They flooded the page with abusive comments, demanding the arrest (or even execution) of the admins of the page, or anyone who likes the FreeTahmid page. As it appears, we live in a country where demanding justice will reward you with nothing but life threats.
Finally on August 5, Tahmid was presented in front of a court. After 14 days of remand, he was sent to jail without any charges filed against him.
I am no expert on law, but that doesn’t sound right. You cannot send someone to jail without any charges, or can you?
When the general population of Bangladesh looks towards Western nations for democratic ideals, the government of Bangladesh has failed to embrace the two fundamental assumptions of a democracy: The trust in due process and law that safeguards the interests of all classes of people.
Tahmid was supposed leave for Nepal on July 9 for a summer internship with Unicef. He has already missed that opportunity.
I wonder how long it will take to complete the investigation.
What if it takes several more months? How can we let the investigators rob a bright, young man’s future?
Do we silently sit back and watch Tahmid’s dream of becoming a public health professional get shattered?
Rasheek Irtisam is a PhD student in finance at the University of Memphis.