DHAKA – Bangladesh police have released six student leaders on August 1, who were detained following a protest campaign against civil service job quotas that led to deadly nationwide unrest last month. This development comes after a period of heightened tensions and significant casualties during the demonstrations.
The group, known as Students Against Discrimination, organized rallies in July to protest against civil service job quotas. The protests escalated into violent clashes with police, resulting in 206 fatalities, according to an AFP count of police and hospital data.
“All six quota movement coordinators have been returned to their families this afternoon,” deputy commissioner Junaed Alam Sarkar told AFP.
Among those released was Nahid Islam, a prominent leader of the movement. Islam, along with two others, had been forcibly taken from a hospital in Dhaka by plainclothes detectives on July 26 and held at an undisclosed location.
His father, Mr. Badrul Islam, confirmed to AFP that his son returned home on the afternoon of August 1, but did not provide further details. The remaining three leaders were detained in subsequent days, with government officials initially stating that the detentions were for the leaders’ own safety.
Justice Minister Anisul Huq informed AFP that the detained leaders had willingly agreed to be in police custody. “They came here willingly and they returned willingly,” he said. The release marks a significant turn in the events following the unrest, which had drawn widespread attention and criticism regarding the handling of the protests by the authorities.