After huge criticisms, a Dhaka court on Monday granted bail to former Jagannath University teacher and guerrilla freedom fighter Prof SM Anwara Begum in an attempted murder case filed over the July Uprising.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Minhazur Rahman gave the order on a bond of Tk500.
Prof Anwara taught political science at Jagannath University until her retirement in 2021 and had previously served as a member of the Public Service Commission (PSC).
Students confronted Prof Anwara, 69, on the university campus on May 28 and handed her over to the police, who arrested her and produced her before the court.
The court rejected her bail plea and ordered her to be sent to jail.
Her detention sparked controversy over the policeโs role in registering false cases regarding the July uprising. Rights groups and activists say the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, its allies, and the police are using the July cases as a means to suppress dissenting voices and take revenge against political rivals.
Hundreds of cases have been filed over the July violence, many of which have raised questions of neutral assessment.
According to the case, on July 19, Sujan Mollah, general secretary of Jagannath University Chhatra Dal, was shot during an anti-discrimination student protest in the Rayshabazar area of the capital.
On February 16, he filed a case against Anwara Begum at Sutrapur police station, accusing Prof Anwara, among others, of attempted murder. The investigating officer, in a report submitted to the court, claimed the professorโs involvement in the incident.
On Sunday, the Human Rights Forum Bangladesh (HRFB) expressed deep concern and strong condemnation over the denial of bail and subsequent imprisonment of Prof Anwara.
In a statement, the HRFB criticised the denial of bail, adding that the decision was contrary to judicial transparency and human rights.
The organization believes that under Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the court had the opportunity to consider bail for women and elderly individualsโan option it did not exercise. The group also suspects government influence over the courtโs decision.
The statement further said that the way hundreds of people are being arrested and jailed in connection with human rights violations during Julyโs protests could undermine the credibility of the cases and obstruct justice for the actual perpetrators.
English