Amnesty International South Asia
17 September 2020
BANGLADESH: PROFESSOR SACKED, THREATENED: PROFESSOR MD. MORSHED HASAN KHAN
Professor Md. Morshed Hasan Khan faces trumped-up sedition charges and has had his professorial position at Dhaka University terminated for publishing an opinion editorial in a national newspaper. Professor Morshed has received multiple death threats from unidentified people, and is being denied access to his campus residence, where his wife – who is a cancer patient – resides. In 2019 alone, at least 1,325 people were detained in 732 cases filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA). If found guilty, Professor Morshed could face life imprisonment.
The authorities must drop the charges against Professor Morshed Hasan Khan solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and reinstate him to his position at Dhaka University. Academic freedom in Bangladesh must be protected.