Paris, France: November 4, 2023 - JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) deeply expresses concern and outrage over the arbitrary arrests, fabrication of false cases, and the occurrence of police brutality against lawyers associated with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh during peaceful demonstrations and protests in Dhaka and Faridpur.
France-based human rights organization, JMBF, calls for the identification of the accused through an impartial investigation led by a High Court Judge and the immediate, unconditional release of the arrested lawyers, along with the dropping of all charges against them.
Based on reports published in various online and print newspapers in Bangladesh over the past two weeks, it has come to our attention that on the night of October 30, 2023, around at 8 pm, Advocate S.M. Mojammel Hossain Alal, a lawyer of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the Central Committee Joint Secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was arrested from his residence in the Kathalbagan area of the capital. He was arrested on multiple charges related to the recent gatherings and demonstrations by the BNP and subsequently sent to jail custody. Before this, on the morning of October 29, in Dhaka, the Detective Branch (DB) police conducted a raid on his residence in Lalmatia, conducting searches in every room but failing to locate him. Later in the day, around noon, DB police entered his Banani residence too.