Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has expressed her protest over the arrest of a Hindu leader on Thursday. She urged the government to release him soon and emphasized that religious freedom should be preserved and all communities should be protected. In a message on her party’s official X account, Hasina, the Awami League leader, criticized the current government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
It has not protected the rights and safety of the people, she said. The leader of the opposition Awami League said those who had killed a lawyer in Chattogram must be punished. He said law and order had been “unconstitutional” during Yunus’s rule. Hasina cited recent instances of violence, like the burning of a Hindu temple in Chattogram, as well as earlier attacks on religious minorities.
“A top leader of the Sanatan religious community has been unjustly arrested. He must be released immediately,” Hasina said referring to the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachary, the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote speaker, who was held at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday and not granted bail later.
The Chattogram’s Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate court sent him behind bars in a sedition case regarding a bloody skirmish between security personnel and his activists on Tuesday. The arrest came when tensions were mounting, including the killing of a lawyer during the incident.
Hasina demanded swift action against those who committed the murder of the lawyer, saying that it was a grave violation of human rights. “A lawyer went to perform his professional duties, and those who beat him to death were terrorists. Whoever they are must be punished,” Hasina said, calling for justice,” Hasina said, demanding justice.
Hasina left for India on August 5 after many people protested and removed her government. She criticized the current temporary government for not being able to keep peace and order. Three days after Hasina left, Nobel prize winner Muhammad Yunus was named the Chief Adviser to the temporary government.
In her statement, Hasina said that Yunus’s administration has not done well in any area, especially in controlling rising prices and keeping the public safe. She also expressed her worry about the mistreatment of Hindus in Bangladesh, mentioning several reports of attacks on the Hindu community, even after Yunus took office.
“The government has failed to protect human life, and they have failed to control the price rise,” Hasina stated. “Those who grabbed power have failed in every sector, including the most basic right of citizens—the right to live securely.”
Hasina spoke about the increasing extremism in Bangladesh. She pointed out reports of increased attacks on religious minorities and the emergence of radical groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami. Hindus constituted about 22% of the population at the time of Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971. Today, they make up only around 8%. This decline is mainly due to years of social and political exclusion and periodic violence targeted at the community.
In closing the statement, she requested that those in Bangladesh stand as a single force against what is being termed “terrorism and to demand improved security of ordinary human lives and possessions”.
“If this unconstitutional government of Yunus fails to punish these terrorists, it will face punishment for human rights violations,” Hasina warned, adding, “It is important to ensure the safety of the lives and property of the common people.”
As Bangladesh grapples with growing social and political problems, Hasina’s calls for justice and safety for minorities continue to resonate, as the country struggles through a very difficult crisis of leadership and human rights.
