Two students of Khulna University (KU) were released on bail on Monday evening, over five years after they were detained during the Awami League regime on charge of militancy.
The students, Mohammad Anik, a student of the Human Resource and Management Discipline, and Mozahidul Islam, a student of the Statistics Discipline at KU, were released from Khulna Jail after the High Court granted their bail last week.
According to court sources, the two students were picked up by law enforcement agencies on January 8, 2020, and were allegedly held at an unknown location. They were reportedly subjected to torture for 17 days.
On January 25, the police showed them as arrested with explosives and in connection with bomb attacks on the Khulna Krishak League office and the vehicle garage of Aronghata Police Station.
Additionally, four more cases were filed against them, and they had remained in jail since then.
Following the July Mass Uprising, their classmates, roommates, teachers, and family members held a press conference on the Khulna University campus, demanding their release. The university also began the legal fight to release the students from the jail.
According to the students’ lawyer, Akter Jahan Ruku, six cases were filed against them. Of these, they were acquitted in two cases, granted bail in two others, and sentenced in two cases filed with the Sonadanga Police Station but later secured bail from High Court.
University authorities said the High Court granted them bail last week, but due to the Ashura holiday, the order reached the jail three days later, the lawyer explained.