On July 19, 2024, police abducted Asif Mahmud, a student in the department of linguistics at Dhaka University and a national coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement. Mahmud was held and interrogated for four days before being released on July 24.
On the evening of July 19, police abducted Mahmud in a residential area of Dhaka. According to Mahmud, police interrogated him while he was in custody, demanding that he put a stop to the anti-discrimination movement. He reported that he was injected with an unknown substance that rendered him unconscious each time he refused to stop the movement.
On July 24, Mahmud was released and left blindfolded near a city road, along with another abducted student and national leader of the anti-discrimination movement, Abu Bakr Majumdar (see report).
Following his release, Mahmud was admitted to Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital for treatment. He was again abducted from the hospital on July 26 (see report).
Mahmud’s abduction occurred against the backdrop of the quota reform movement, a set of widespread student protests that began on the campus of the University of Dhaka, after a June 5, 2024 ruling by the High Court of Bangladesh reinstating a quota system – previously abolished in 2018 – which allocated government jobs to certain favored groups. Under the system, 30% of government positions went to people who had fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan and their family members, creating a shortage of sought-after positions for others. The protests ultimately led to the resignation of Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the establishment of a new interim government.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the detention without charge and alleged torture of a student activist, to retaliate for or prevent the nonviolent exercise of the right to free expression and assembly. State authorities must refrain from actions intended to punish, restrict, or deter the exercise of these rights. Such actions violate fundamental human rights and undermine democracy generally.
Sources:
https://www.icnl.org/wp-content/uploads/HRR_July-September_2024_English.pdf
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/asif-mahmud
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/352790/nahid-islam-and-asif-mahmud-allegedly-picked-up-by
https://www.facebook.com/QuotedOfficials/photos/asif-mahmud-abducted-tortured-drugged-to-be-senseless-now-recovering-in-hospital/500687879202524/
https://en.banglaoutlook.org/news/234277
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/dz51fhhcw6