Foreign ministry summons UN Resident Coordinator over Abrar remarks

The Foreign Ministry has summoned UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo to explain the intergovernmental organisation's statement on the murder of BUET student Abrar Fahad.

She met with the foreign ministry's Director General of UN Wing Nahida Sobhan at 11:00am on Sunday.

Seppo declined to comment on the matter at the end of the meeting.

The body of Abrar, a second-year student of electrical and electronic engineering of BUET, was found on the staircase of his dormitory in the early hours of Monday.

He was reportedly beaten to death by Bangladesh Chhatra League operatives on October 6 for one of his Facebook posts, which seemed critical of a recent deal between Bangladesh and India.

Police have so far arrested 19 people with ties to the ruling party's student wing in connection with the murder, says a bdnews24 report.

“The UN deplores the killing of a young BUET student, allegedly for freely expressing his views. Campus violence in Bangladesh has over the years affected and claimed too many lives, with apparent impunity for those bearing responsibility,” the UN said in a statement following the murder.

“The UN Bangladesh notes steps taken by the authorities to apprehend alleged perpetrators. It encourages independent investigations that should lead to justice being served in a fair process, and measures to ensure prevention of further incidents."

It further emphasised that freedom of speech is a human right and "nobody should be harassed, tortured or killed for exercising it.”