Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) vice chairman retired major Hafiz Uddin Ahmed was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the city on the evening of October 12 in a case filed under the Digital Security Act.
A team of RAB-4 arrested Hafiz when he landed at the airport from Singapore. Later, the law enforcement officials handed him over to Pallabi police station. He was accused in a case filed under the Digital Security Act. BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said Hafiz returned home after receiving medical treatment in Singapore.
Major (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed is no ordinary citizen of the country. He is a freedom fighter who has been awarded Bangladesh’s third highest gallantry award, the Bir Bikrom, by the Awami League government of the Father of the Nation. He has been elected as an MP from Bhola for six times consecutively since 1986. He served as the Minister of Water Resources and as the Commerce Minister during the tenure of the second government of PM Khaleda Zia.
What were the reasons for picking up this outstanding citizen of the country-a freedom fighter-who has proven his devotion to the nation, from the airport? The sheer act of arresting him at the airport is a violation of all norms and standards of decency. He has come back to his country and there was no urgency for arresting him at the airport. He could have been arrested easily from his known address any day. He was not hiding. As we know, he returned after receiving medical treatment in Singapore.
We know that cases are filed under the Digital Security Act to simply harass and silence the members of the opposition. The law itself is controversial. The act was passed without addressing journalists’ concern over Sections 8, 28, 29 and 31 that deal with hurting religious values, disrupting public order, dishing out defaming information and causing deterioration in law and order by publishing anything on a website or in electronic form.
As recently as June of this year the US government raised concerns regarding certain provisions of the Digital Security Act which could potentially be used to harass political opponents or anyone who has opinions contrary to the official government line.
Besides, we also know that the letter of the law is not relevant for starting case in our country because one can be kept in jail without bail for months together.
We shall urge that let the politicians do whatever they like to do, but we are anxious to see that our public servants don’t take any initiative to preserve the rights of common people; rather they like to play politics.
The politicians will come and go, but public servants are supposed to serve the people during their full service period.
