British journalist Bergman condemns fresh arrest bid to keep ex-mayor Ivy behind bars

British journalist and human rights activist David Bergman has criticised the police move to show former Narayanganj City Corporation mayor Selina Hayat Ivy arrested in several new cases, just a day after the High Court granted her bail in five previous cases.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Bergman described the police action as “utterly disgraceful” and said authorities have yet to present “credible evidence” to justify Ivy’s initial arrest or her prolonged detention.

He added: “The clear intent appears to be to keep her imprisoned for the foreseeable future: as soon as she secures bail in one set of cases, new fabricated ones are filed to keep her behind bars. It would not be surprising that this is being done simply to prevent her taking part in the national elections.

“This is a blatant abuse of the criminal justice system. It is shameful that no senior government official, nor any high-ranking member of police or judiciary, has had the courage to condemn this or put a stop to it.”

Bergman also outlined the standards he believes should apply to those arrested in connection with the July protest murder cases:

Photographic, video, or mobile geo-location evidence placing them at the scene;

Other audio or digital evidence directly implicating them in the shooting;

Credible proof that they were part of a verified chain of command that issued or received orders related to the shooting.

“Unless the authorities can present such evidence, all those currently detained in relation to these murder cases should, at a minimum, be granted bail immediately,” he wrote.

“There is no point in this government discussing grand constitutional reforms while arbitrary detentions and abuses of justice continue unchecked,” he added. “If it wants to show that they are really interested in reform, perhaps they should ensure that the most basic principles of due process and the rule of law are upheld.”

The High Court bench of Justice ASM Abdul Mobin and Justice Md Sagir Hossain had granted bail to Ivy in five cases on Sunday afternoon.

On the same day, the police filed applications in Narayanganj Sadar and Fatullah Model police stations for her arrest in two additional cases; another two applications were lodged on Monday at Fatullah Police Station.

The court scheduled hearings for these applications on Nov 13.

Ivy had been arrested from her Narayanganj residence on May 9, following the fall of the Awami League government. She has been held in Kashimpur female’s Central Jail, Gazipur, for six months.

Police said that one of the new applications relates to a murder during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement in Fatullah Model Police Station’s jurisdiction; the other is for obstructing police and assaulting officers near Sadar Model Police Station.

Narayanganj Sadar Police chief Mohammad Nasir Ahmed said Ivy is not listed as a suspect in one of the two new cases, but the arrest applications were filed after investigators found evidence of her involvement.

Fatullah Police chief Anwar Hossain confirmed the same.

Ivy was elected mayor of Narayanganj City Corporation for a third consecutive term in 2022, as former senior joint secretary of the district Awami League.

After the July Uprising and the removal of city mayors nationwide by the interim government on Aug 19, 2024, Ivy lost her post.

She was later named in five cases filed across multiple police stations in Narayanganj alleging involvement in murder and attempted killing during the student movement.