‘Fascist Attempt to Silence Dissent’: 32 citizens condemn attack on Chattogram student rally

Thirty-two citizens have condemned the attack on a Ganatantrik Chhatra Jote rally in Chattogram, calling it a “fascist attempt to silence dissent and free thought”.

The rally took place on Wednesday in front of the Chattogram Press Club. A group named “Shahbaghbirodhi Oikya” reportedly disrupted the event, leaving 18 injured, including three critically.

In a joint statement issued on Friday, the citizens said the attack was “cowardly and planned to crush the spirit of free expression that emerged during the July uprising.”

They said the rally was organised to protest the acquittal of A T M Azharul Islam, a convicted 1971 war criminal. “Those who disagreed could have protested separately,” the statement read. “Instead, they formed a mob and attacked peaceful protesters.”

The statement also claimed that the attackers were linked to groups that opposed the Liberation War.

Author Ferdous Ara Aleem, freedom fighter Mahfuzur Rahman, and several academics, lawyers, and cultural activists were among the signatories to the statement.

What happened

Witnesses said the attackers snatched and burned the rally’s banner. A video shared on social media showed a man, identified as Akash Chowdhury, kicking two people from behind, one of them a woman.

At a press conference on Thursday, the Democratic Student Alliance accused Islami Chhatra Shibir members of being involved in the attack.

However, Shibir’s Chattogram North City leaders denied the claim, saying no Shibir activists were present and that Akash Chowdhury holds no post in the organisation.