GM Quader seeks release of 6 detained quota reform coordinators

Opposition leader and Jatiya Party (JaPa) Chairman Ghulam Mohammad (GM) Quader has called for the release of six coordinators of the Anti-Discriminatory Students Movement who have been detained in the name of security.

The six coordinators are Md Nahid Islam, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, Md Abu Baker, Asif Mahmud, and Nusrat Tabassum.

In a statement issued on Monday, GM Quader said: "In the Bangladesh Republic, the people own the country and all its powers. Every citizen has the right to criticize or protest against the government."

He continued: "The government or any political party has no right to consider non-violent protest as treason or to respond violently using state law enforcement and defence forces. Law enforcement personnel also cannot fire to quell any movement."

The opposition leader expressed concern that the six coordinators have been detained at the DB office for several days without being allowed to meet their families and relatives, causing anxiety among their loved ones.

"We have learned from various sources that they have announced the withdrawal of the movement from DB custody," he added.

GM Quader claimed that common students feel that intelligence agencies are coercing them through force and intimidation. "Because of this, the general students rejected the announcement of the detained coordinators," he said.

"We do not consider it legal to hold ordinary students and their families against their will in the name of safety day after day," he added.