From a Twitter tag of Zulkernain Saer 26 November 2023
On the 22nd of November, right after Fajr prayers, Mr Rafiqul Islam went for a walk in his neighbourhood in Vatara. The local
men suspected Mr Islam, who lost both his hands in an electrical accident in 2001, of picketing. They mercilessly beat him up and handed him over to the patrol police. Yesterday, the Vatara Police Station showed him arrested under section 46(10) 23 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and sent him to court. His bail plea was rejected because if he is freed he will conspire to overthrow the government and worsen the law and order situation.
Is protesting against the government a crime? And how can an elderly man who can’t even feed himself without assistance worsen the law and order situation? He has been accused of being a
worker, and because of this, the media is not covering this issue.
It is hard to keep calm when you hear such heartbreaking stories every day with no retribution for the perpetrators. This Awami League government is on an unstoppable blitzkrieg, and at this point, the
almost daily demand for a free and fair election is sounding like a broken record. It’s starting to feel like lip service and the US’s inaction in spite of all brutalities is adding to Sheikh Hasina’s air of invincibility.
