A statement signed by 44 prominent civil society members was issued in this regard on Thursday, according to a press release. On September 1, police arrested 83 migrant workers — 81 from Vietnam and two from Qatar — after they completed 14 days in quarantine at Diabari Camp in Dhaka. Also Read - Bangladesh faces criticism for arresting migrant workersHowever the civil society members claimed that the countries concerned had pardoned them and sent them back to Bangladesh, in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The civil society members also pointed out that the language and the choice of words used by the police in its prayer to the court on July 4 were almost the same. Among the signatories were Prof Emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury of Gonoshastya Kendra; Prof Anu Muhammad of Jahangirnagar University; jurist Shahdeen Malik; Prof Parveen Hasan of Central Women's University; Prof Ali Riaz of Illinois State University; Prof Golam Mostafa of Chittagong University; Prof CR Abrar of Dhaka University; Prof Swapan Adnan of London University, and photojournalist and writer Shahidul Alam.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 03, 2020 17:15 UTC