No travel ban on Imran H Sarker, says High Court

The High Court has ordered that Ganajagaran Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker be allowed to travel abroad and return to Bangladesh.

Justice Tariq ul Hakim and Justice Md Shohrowardi also barred the authorities from arresting or harassing the activist on Monday.

The court heard a writ petition by Sarker challenging the decision to prevent him from boarding a flight to the US on Friday.

M Amir-ul Islam and Tania Amir represented the petitioners, while the state was represented by Deputy Attorney General Amatun Karim.

Sarker was to go on a four-week trip at the invitation of the US State Department. He was scheduled to leave aboard an Emirates flight on Friday night.

But Sarker claims that he was stopped from boarding the flight after he had checked in and passed immigration.

“They kept me waiting and assured me that the plane will not fly without their permission. But 10 minutes before the plane was scheduled to leave at 7:30pm, they said I cannot leave because of orders from the high-ups,” Sarker told bdnews24.com.

Sarker then filed a petition over the incident, which also requested permission to travel abroad.

The Ganajagaran Mancha began in 2013, when protesters calling for a death sentence for war criminal Quader Mollah coalesced into a popular movement at Dhaka’s Shahbagh. Sarker, a former Rangpur Medical College Bangladesh Chhatra League leader, eventually became its spokesperson.

Sarker grew into a well-known figure at home and abroad through his participation in the movement. Since then he has criticised several government decisions and drawn the ire of the ruling party through protests demanding justice for the death of Cumilla college student Sohagi Jahan Tonu.

A BCL leader had brought a case against Sarker for insulting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It was later dismissed by the High Court.

On Jun 6 Sarker was detained by RAB for several hours after holding a rally against extrajudicial killings at Shahbagh.