Former vice president of Dhaka University (DU) Shamsunnahar Hall Council, Sheikh Tasnim Afroz Emi, has been released from jail on Thursday after spending two months in custody.
Her release on Thursday followed the granting of interim bail by the court on 30 April.
Emi, who also served as the former general secretary of ‘Slogan 71’, was arrested in connection with an incident on 7 March involving the playing of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s 7 March speech in front of Shahbagh Police Station.
Authorities alleged her involvement with activists of the banned organisation, Chhatra League, and subsequently filed a case against her under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The incident on 7 March reportedly began when tensions flared over the playing of the speech outside the police station. During the ensuing commotion, several individuals allegedly vandalised microphones and batteries, leading to a scuffle with the organisers. There were further allegations that a journalist was assaulted at the scene.
According to the police, Emi and others obstructed law enforcement officers in the execution of their duties and attempted to snatch an accused individual, Asif Ahmed Saikat, from police custody.
Following the unrest, a group of students led by Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) representatives AB Jubayer and Mohammad Mosaddek handed over Emi and another individual, Abdul Al Mamun, to the police.
Emi had notably used social media to call for the programme to play the 7 March speech in front of the Shahbagh station. She is one of three defendants named in the case filed by the police.
Prior to these events, Emi was a prominent figure in student politics, having contested the Ducsu elections for the position of VP under the ‘Pratirodh Parishad’ panel, which represented various leftist organisations.
Her advocate, Muha Noman Hossain, confirmed her release via a Facebook post, stating, “Alhamdulillah. Emi is free from prison, sincere gratitude to everyone who stood by her”.
