Abdul Latif Siddiqui, a former minister and expelled member of the Awami League, has applied for bail in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The bail petition was submitted on Wednesday before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court in Dhaka, Siddiqui’s lawyer, Kayes Ahmed, confirmed.
Six others arrested in the same case—Golam Mostofa, Zakir Hossain, Toushiful Bari Khan, Amir Hossain, Shafiqul Islam, and Abdullahil Qaiyum—have also applied for bail. Kayes Ahmed represents all seven defendants.
The case relates to an incident at Shahbagh police station under the Anti-Terrorism Act, following which Siddiqui and the others were remanded to jail. Siddiqui reportedly signed the power of attorney from prison to authorize his lawyer to file the bail petition. A hearing on the bail request is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Siddiqui was produced before the Dhaka court last Friday, but at that time he refused to sign the power of attorney, citing a lack of trust in the court.
The arrests stemmed from an incident on Thursday at a roundtable discussion organized by the platform Moncho 71 at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU). Siddiqui, Dhaka University Law Professor Hafizur Rahman Karzon, journalist Monjurul Alam Pannas, and others had attended the event. After the opening speech by Professor Karzon, a group of individuals entered the DRU hall with a procession, tore the discussion banner, and obstructed participants. Police later intervened and detained 16 people, including Siddiqui, Karzon, and Pannas. They were formally charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act and sent to jail last Friday.
