Protest to continue, confirms quota coordinators

We were forced to issue statement in custody

Six leaders of the quota reform movement, who were released yesterday from the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) of police, have alleged they were coerced into withdrawing their programmes while in custody.

The coordinators in a statement released today (2 August) said, we did not voluntarily give the video statement broadcast from the DB office withdrawing the movement. No decision on the anti-discrimination student movement can come from the DB office.

They emphasised, “No decision will be made without consulting all coordinators and the agitating students across the country.”

Regarding the future of the movement, they stated, “Our movement will continue until our demands are met. We urge all citizens to come to the streets defying the government’s repression. We will not let the martyrs’ sacrifices be in vain,” the statement declared.

The leaders detailed their detention, saying, “We were forcefully detained by DB officials under the guise of security. Although the home minister and the DB chief spoke about our safety, their intent was to isolate us from the movement.”

They said, “For the past seven days, we and our families have endured harassment and torture while they staged a farce in the DB office. We strongly condemn and protest against these actions,”

“We were told we couldn’t be released without court permission. The video statement showing us withdrawing our programmes was made under duress. We were even pressured to sit with former DB Chief Harun-Or-Rashid and have dinner while they filmed the video,” the statement explained.

The leaders stated they do not seek any “farcical safety”; instead, they demand justice for those killed during the recent quota protest violence.

“From the night of 30 July, Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, and Abu Baker Majumder began a hunger strike demanding justice for the deceased and an end to mass arrests and harassment. Upon learning of this, Hasnat Abdullah, Sarjis Alam, and Nusrat Tabassum also refused to eat. This information was kept from our families and the media. Later, DB officials were compelled to release us, fearing for our lives,” the statement added.


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