KENNEDY CALLS FOR RELEASE OF
BANGLADESHI PROFESSORS & STUDENTS
News Release
U.S. Senator Condemns Torture
By A Special Correspondent
(Washington, D.C.) In a forceful letter addressed to Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh, United States Senator Edward Kennedy, expressed his “deep concern about twelve prominent intellectuals from Dhaka and Rajshahi University who have been detained without charges under the authority of the Director General of Forces Intelligence since August.”
Kennedy stated that he was “especially troubled by accusations that they have been tortured.” The U.S. Senator, brother of the late President John F. Kennedy, has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s war policies in Iraq and the holding of detainees at Guantanamo.
With regard to Bangladesh, Kennedy argued that “holding these twelve men without charge and for political reasons is a major assault on the integrity and independence of the academic community of your nation and calls into question your government’s commitment to human rights and the rule of law...It is wrong for any government to detain individuals for political reasons, and to deny them access for extended periods to attorneys, family members, and medical care.” Kennedy called on the “government to release these intellectuals and students who have been detained for political reasons.”
Kennedy’s letter was addressed to the Bangladesh government through Humayun Kabir, Bangladesh’s Ambassador to the United States. In an attachment to the letter Senator Kennedy listed the individual names of the twelve detained professors and their university affiliations. A facsimile of the full letter is attached to this article. It was leaked to the press by a Washington source who gained access to the confidential correspondence.
BANGLADESHI PROFESSORS & STUDENTS
News Release
U.S. Senator Condemns Torture
By A Special Correspondent
(Washington, D.C.) In a forceful letter addressed to Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh, United States Senator Edward Kennedy, expressed his “deep concern about twelve prominent intellectuals from Dhaka and Rajshahi University who have been detained without charges under the authority of the Director General of Forces Intelligence since August.”
Kennedy stated that he was “especially troubled by accusations that they have been tortured.” The U.S. Senator, brother of the late President John F. Kennedy, has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s war policies in Iraq and the holding of detainees at Guantanamo.
With regard to Bangladesh, Kennedy argued that “holding these twelve men without charge and for political reasons is a major assault on the integrity and independence of the academic community of your nation and calls into question your government’s commitment to human rights and the rule of law...It is wrong for any government to detain individuals for political reasons, and to deny them access for extended periods to attorneys, family members, and medical care.” Kennedy called on the “government to release these intellectuals and students who have been detained for political reasons.”
Kennedy’s letter was addressed to the Bangladesh government through Humayun Kabir, Bangladesh’s Ambassador to the United States. In an attachment to the letter Senator Kennedy listed the individual names of the twelve detained professors and their university affiliations. A facsimile of the full letter is attached to this article. It was leaked to the press by a Washington source who gained access to the confidential correspondence.
_________________________________
Deshi Voice salutes Senator Kennedy
No comments:
Post a Comment