Dhaka, April 8 – The Bangladesh Awami League has strongly condemned the arrest of Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the former Speaker of Parliament, calling the case against her “baseless and fabricated”.
Chaudhury, the country's first female Speaker, was taken into custody by the Bangladesh police from her residence in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi early Tuesday morning.
Citing sources, the Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune reported that a case has been lodged against Chaudhury in connection with the fatal shooting of gold worker Muslim Uddin in Rangpur during the July 2024 protests.
Expressing grave concern over the “physical and mental abuse” inflicted on Chaudhury during her arrest, the Awami League said, “Such inhumane treatment towards a competent, refined, and humane woman politician is contrary to democratic culture and the rule of law and constitutes a grave violation of human rights.”
“This kind of behaviour towards an individual who served in a constitutional position of the state and played a vital role in upholding the dignity of the country’s democratic institutions is not only disgraceful but will stand as a deplorable example,” it added.
Asserting that such “false cases and acts of repression” are driven by “political vendetta”, the Awami League said these actions have endangered the democratic environment of the country, violated the principles of justice and constituted a “heinous misuse of the law”.
The party called for the immediate and unconditional release of Chaudhury and demanded that all “false and harassing” cases filed against other national leaders and ordinary citizens be withdrawn, along with the release of all political prisoners.
“There is no alternative to this if Bangladesh is to be built as a fair and democratic state,” it stressed.
Last month, the Awami League expressed grave concern over what it described as ongoing mass arrests and custodial killings of political leaders and activists across the country, saying the actions violate fundamental rights and undermine justice and the rule of law.
The party alleged that the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government has followed the path of the former Yunus-led interim government by using state machinery to carry out "repression, torture, and suppression" aimed at silencing dissent and pursuing political vengeance.
"Mass arrests of political leaders and activists, along with deaths in custody, continue to occur. Repeated arrests, indiscriminate remand orders, and reports of custodial deaths are causing pain and anger across the nation," the Awami League stated.