Why speaking in public interest will be treated as a crime?

This is an unacceptable and worrying incident that police have arrested a graphic designer and young poet Shamim Ashraf under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for his posters about the activities of Mymensingh City Corporation and sued him later under Cyber Security Act.

According to a newspaper report, police detained him from his house in the Atharobari Building area in the city on Sunday night.

Writers and poets of Mymensingh protested his arrest. It also went on social media.

Reportedly, Mymensingh senior judicial magistrate Md Tajul Islam Sohagh granted him bail on Tuesday after a hearing.

As Shamim secured the bail, the Mymensingh city corporation filed a case against him under the Cyber Security Act.

The city corporation authorities allege in the case that Shamim Ashraf designed posters as propaganda against the corporation using its logo between 7 and 18 February and pasted those posters at different places in the city.

The propaganda posters were found in Shamim’s computer and other devices.

However, there is an allegation that Awami League’s internal conflict in Mymensingh was behind the case of Shamim Ashraf.

The posters he designed in the last parliamentary elections played a role in creating public opinion in favour of the winning candidate. Question is why should Shamin pay the price of Awami League’s internal conflict?

Meanwhile, the city corporation’s lawyer said judge Bozlur Rahman of the cyber tribunal took the case into cognizance and asked any investigation agency to probe the case.

Shamim Ashraf has been vocal against traffic jams, water logging and other problems in the city corporation area.

His exceptional protest of standing on knee-deep water in the Brahmaputra River against the irregularities in the excavations work of the river drew attention of people around the country.

This proves that Shamim Ashraf’s movement focuses on greater interest of the people rather than of any insular interests.

No matter who is in helm of the city corporation, this body is not anyone’s personal property and it belongs to the people.

Anyone has the right to criticise this body as it is run by taxpayers’ money.

Why should a young man pay the price of Awami League’s internal conflict? The Mymensingh City Corporation has set a bad precedent of ensuring arrest of the accused under section 54 first as many sections of the Cyber Security Act are bailable.

We demand withdrawal of the case against Shamim Ashraf without further delay.