Bangladesh News

Dhaka University (DU) teachers and students yesterday vowed to continue their demonstrations on campus until all cases filed against university students and teachers in connection with the August violence were withdrawn.

Meanwhile, the government yesterday freed 10 Rajshahi University (RU) students and an employee convicted in a case filed in connection with torching a DGFI vehicle.

The DU teachers’ and students’ vow comes despite four teachers and 11 students were acquitted yesterday in a case filed in connection with violating the Emergency Power Rules (EPR) in August last year. Four absconding students in the case were convicted but received presidential pardon in the afternoon. They had been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

Hearing about the verdict, demonstrating students of the university rejected it saying they do not want “partial justice”. They termed the conviction of four students and their presidential mercy a farce.

Students under three separate platforms–Students Against Repression led by left-leaning student organisations, Chhatra-Bandhu led by Bangladesh Chhatra League and Nirjatan Protirodhi Shikkharti led by Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal–have been demonstrating on campus in a bid to press home the demand for the detainees’ unconditional release.

The three students’ platforms laid siege to the vice-chancellor’s office to press home their demand yesterday.

The students brought out separate processions inside the arts building, business studies faculty and other places on campus chanting slogans against the verdict. They hoisted black flag atop Curzon Hall of the university.

They also urged all students and teachers of all educational institutions across the country to form human chains at their respective institutions today.

Setting January 23 a deadline for releasing the detainees, DU teachers and students threatened more demonstrations.

Demonstrating DU teachers, who staged a three-hour sit-in in front of the Dhaka University Teachers’ Association (Duta) yesterday, said they would continue their protest until the detainees were freed and the cases were withdrawn. They claimed the students and the teachers did not commit any crime so they cannot be punished and there cannot be any question of mercy from anyone.

Classes were suspended during the sit-in.

Today a Dhaka court is scheduled to deliver a verdict in another case filed against the teachers and students in connection with violating the EPR in August.

Security measures on campus were beefed up yesterday morning. Police set up checkpoints at different entrances to campus while some entrances were closed altogether for the entire day.

Former president of Duta Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique said, “Teachers have respect for the law… We do not want to comment on the verdict.” He, however, reiterated their demand.

The verdict proved that the teachers did not commit any crime and if they were innocent then why were they detained for five months, he questioned.

While the demonstrating teachers, mainly belonging to pro-Awami League Blue Panel and left-leaning Pink Panel, claimed that the acquittal of the teachers was the outcome of their demonstration, the acting president and general secretary of Duta claimed that it was the outcome of their negotiations.

Duta acting President Prof Tazmeri SA Islam and acting General Secretary Dr Mamun Ahmed belong to the pro-BNP-Jamaat White Panel.

RU CONVICTS RELEASED
The government yesterday freed 10 Rajshahi University (RU) students and an employee convicted in a case for torching a DGFI vehicle, reports our staff correspondent in Rajshahi.

The Rajshahi Central Jail authorities said they released the convicts following President Prof Iajuddin Ahmed’s clemency to the convicts.

Earlier, the family members of the convicts urged the government to release them.

The freed students were given a warm reception at the jail gate by hundreds of their fellow students and relatives at 6:20pm.

They went to the RU campus and paid homage to the country’s first martyred intellectual Dr Shamsuzzoha.

The released students are — Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) RU unit Secretary Ayen Uddin, Joint Secretary Aziz Bin Kamal Uzzal, Udichi RU unit General Secretary Abu Sayem, BCL and Udichi activists Dipayan Sarkar Dwip, Mizanur Rahman Mithu, Sardar Ayaz, SM Fakrul Islam Raihan, Shamim Ahmed, Kazi Abdul Latif and Shakhawat Hossain.

Ataur Rahman, a driver and employee of the university, was also released.

Ataur was arrested in August last year while the students surrendered before court on January 20 and 21 after they were convicted in the case.

Rajshahi Speedy Trial Tribunal on December 12 last year sentenced the 10 students and the employee to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined them Tk 5,000 each.

The court acquitted two teachers — Prof Sarwar Jahan Sajal and Golam Sabbir Sattar Tapu and RU Deputy Chief Information Officer Sadekul Islam.

Rajshahi DGFI Assistant Director Shawkat Ali filed the case.

The clemency to the convicted RU students and an employee came in the wake of continuous student demonstration on the RU campus.

Earlier, RU students held an array of programmes including bringing out procession, laying siege to the administrative building, organising token hunger strike, human chain, and cultural function on the campus for the release of the convicts.

They boycotted classes from 11:00am to 1:00pm demanding withdrawal of the case filed by the RU authorities against the students for causing violence on the campus on August 23 last year.

Several hundred students and family member of the convicted students brought out a black flag procession carrying a coffin on the campus.

They laid siege to the administrative building for half an hour and staged a demonstration carrying banners and placards.

Hundreds of students formed a human-chain in front of the central library at about 1.00pm.

Students under the banner of Students Against Repression wearing black ribbons observed a two-hour token hunger strike in front of the central library and held a cultural function.