Eminent citizens condemn harassment of Prof Asif Nazrul

At least 64 eminent citizens of the country have condemned the harassment of Dhaka University (DU) teacher Prof Dr Asif Nazrul.

In a statement issued on Saturday, they also demanded exemplary punishment of those involved in the August 18 incident.

They urged the DU administration to take legal action against those responsible for the attack, confirmed Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury to Bangla Tribune.

The eminent citizens include -- Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, Sultana Kamal, Ali Imam Majumder, M Hafizuddin Khan, Shaheen Anam, Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, Dr Hameeda Hossain, Khushi Kabir, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Rasheda K Chowdhury, Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, Shamsul Huda, Prof Parveen Hasan, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Prof Mustafizur Rahman, ZI Khan Panna, Advocate Hasnat Qayyum, Sara Hossain, Salma Ali, Subrata Chowdhury, Prof Anu Muhammad, Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, Prof Gitiyara Nasrin, Mirza Taslima Sultana, Dr Sumaiya Khair, Dr Shahnaz Huda, Dr. Naima Sharmin Hoque, Dr C R Abrar, and Mohammad Tanzim Uddin Khan.

Also Read - Protesters condemn harassment of Prof Asif Nazrul by Chhatra League

Prof Asif Nazrul on August 16 wrote that if the elections were fair, Bangladesh would witness a situation similar to the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport a couple of days back, when hundreds were seen trying to escape following the Taliban takeover.

Following this, leaders and activists of Chhatra League, the ruling party’s student wing, locked his office at the university’s law department on August 18.

They also pasted posters on the wall outside the room and painted them to demand the professor’s trial for treason, terming him an agent of Jamaat-Shibir and the Pakistani spy agency ISI. They accused him of supporting militancy and the Taliban.

The same day, activists of Bangladesh Muktijuddha Mancha burned the effigy of Prof Asif Nazrul at Raju Bhaskarja on the campus and demanded his expulsion from the university for seditious activities.

Also Read - DU Chhatra League demands trial of Prof Asif Nazrul for treason

Moreover, an FIR was lodged with Shahbagh police station by Chhatra League central committee Human Resource Secretary Nahid Hasan Shahin. Police said they would take action following the approval of the cybercrime department.

The DU authorities later unlocked the room on August 19.