Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former lawmaker Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman has said that “mismanagement of the state” cannot continue and that no government can remain in power under such circumstances.
He made the remarks at a Dhaka court premises on Saturday, October 3, after being brought to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in a case related to an incident at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. A Dhaka court later granted him one-day remand.
Akhtaruzzaman was brought to the court in a prison van under tight police security around 12:30pm. While inside the van, he spoke to journalists through the bars.
“Oppression and repression cannot stop our struggle. We will continue fighting for the people of Bangladesh, especially for the interests of expatriates. We will fight throughout our lives, InshaAllah,” he said.
“We will solve the problems of expatriates. The mismanagement of this state cannot continue. The state cannot be run this way. No government can survive under such circumstances. We believe that we have to launch a new struggle to put the state on the right track and establish people’s rights. InshaAllah, Jamaat-e-Islami will continue that struggle,” he added.
Shortly afterward, a police officer entered the prison van and put handcuffs on Akhtaruzzaman and a security helmet on his head. He refused to wear the helmet and later threw it away as he was taken out of the van.
“Why should I wear a helmet? Why was the helmet put on me? I do not obey the government’s illegal orders,” he said.
He was taken into the courtroom without the helmet. While being taken upstairs, he was heard chanting slogans including “Inquilab Zindabad” and “Bangladesh Zindabad.”
During the hearing, journalists were not allowed to enter the courtroom by the prosecution side. No senior police official provided an explanation for the restriction.
After about an hour of hearing, defence lawyer Abdur Razzaq told reporters that the court had granted one day of remand. Several lawyers were also heard telling others to report that the one-day remand had been granted.
Akhtaruzzaman was later taken from the court’s eighth floor to the ground floor under heavy police security.
At that time, he again protested his treatment, saying, “They forcibly put handcuffs on me and made me wear a helmet. I did not wear it. I will continue to protest against the injustices in this country. Give me however many years of imprisonment you want. The protest will continue.”
Akhtaruzzaman was arrested from his residence in Dhaka Cantonment on Friday, October 2. According to reports, the case was filed over allegations arising from a dispute at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport involving airport officials, including allegations of obstructing government work and assaulting a security officer.
Jamaat leaders have disputed the allegations and called for his release and an impartial investigation into the airport incident.
