The Dhaka city unit of the Jatiya Muktijoddha Parishad (JAMUP) formed a human chain on Monday demanding the unconditional release of freedom fighter and former member of parliament Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman, who is in jail in what it called a false and fabricated case. The protest was held in front of the National Press Club.
Speakers at the human chain said freedom fighter Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman was being held in jail unjustly, that the case filed against him had no basis and that he must be released immediately.
The human chain was presided over by Engineer Moslem Uddin, a freedom fighter and president of the Jatiya Muktijoddha Parishad, and attended by leaders of various professional groups.
In his presidential speech, Moslem Uddin said Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman had been arrested unjustly in a case born of a conspiracy. “That day he protested against the injustice done to passengers at the airport. Is that his crime?” he said. The case the government had filed against him had no basis, he said. Strongly condemning what he called a case meant to harass, he warned that bigger programmes would be announced if Major Akhtaruzzaman was not released unconditionally.
Major Akhtaruzzaman’s son, Sabbir Zaman, said: “My father is a freedom fighter who has worked for a long time to establish the rights of the country’s freedom fighters. When Justice Manik made disparaging remarks about Ziaur Rahman, he protested then too. He has always spoken up to protect the country’s independence and the honour of freedom fighters.” He added that a 76-year-old freedom fighter had been held in jail for 26 days, yet the government had still not produced any evidence for the charges against him. He claimed his father had been implicated in the case for protesting mismanagement in the airport’s baggage area and the harassment of expatriates.
Dr Fakhruddin Manik, assistant secretary of Jamaat’s Dhaka Metropolitan North unit, said one of the nation’s finest sons was being held in a case meant to harass him for protesting an injustice. He had been arrested unjustly for protesting at the airport in defence of the rights of “remittance warriors”, he said. He said angrily that killers and extortionists roam free and are not arrested, while a hero of the nation is kept in jail and freedom fighters are insulted.
Ataur Rahman Sarker, publicity and media secretary of Jamaat’s Dhaka Metropolitan North unit, said people had dreamed of a new Bangladesh free of discrimination and with freedom of expression, won through the mass uprising of August 5. But bringing Major Akhtaruzzaman to court in a helmet for protesting the harassment of expatriates was deeply regrettable and excessive, he said, calling it the footsteps of a new fascism.
Others who spoke at the human chain, presided over by JAMUP president Engineer Moslem Uddin, included JAMUP senior vice-president Md Fazlul Haque, secretary general Tajirul Islam, spokesperson Shahidul Islam, Reviver Sporting Club president Dr Moin Uddin, and central leaders Professor Md Abdul Karim, Md Shafiqul Islam, Md Abdul Hakim Khan, DM Shahjahan and Md Ikramul Haque.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report