US, UK, 11 other OECD countries ‘concerned’ over Bangladesh writer Mushtaq’s death

Ambassadors and high commissioners of 13 OECD countries, including the US and the UK, have expressed “grave concern” over the death in custody of writer Mushtaq Ahmed, who died in jail nearly 10 months after his arrest in a case under the Digital Security Act.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 26 Feb 2021, 05:55 PM
Updated : 26 Feb 2021, 05:55 PM

They also demanded “a swift, transparent, and independent inquiry into the full circumstances” in a joint statement on Friday.

“We understand that he had been denied bail on several occasions and that concerns had been raised about his treatment while he was imprisoned,” the statement said, noting that the writer had been in jail since his arrest on May 5 last year.

Mushtaq, 53, died at Kashimpur High Security Prison in Gazipur on Thursday night. The cause of his death was not clear. The prison authorities have started a case terming his death “unnatural”.

Protesters in Dhaka demonstrated over the writer’s death. Besides fair investigation into Mushtaq’s death, they demand cancellation of the Digital Security Act.

“We will continue to engage with the Government of Bangladesh on our Governments’ wider concerns about the provisions and implementation of the DSA, as well as questions about its compatibility with Bangladesh’s obligations under international human rights laws and standards,” the envoys said in the statement.

The heads of missions also offered “sincere” condolences to the family and friends of the writer.

The signatories of the statement are: US Ambassador Earl Miller, British High Commissioner Robert Dickson, Canadian High Commissioner Benoit Préfontaine, Danish Ambassador Winnie Estrup Petersen, Ambassador of the European Union Rensje Teerink, French Ambassador Jean-Marin Schuh, German Ambassador Peter Fahrenholtz, Italian Ambassador Enrico Nunziata, Ambassador of the Netherlands Harry Verweij, Norwegian Ambassador Espen Rikter-Svendsen, Spanish Ambassador Francisco de Asis Benitez Salas, Swedish Ambassador Alexandra Berg von Linde and Ambassador of Switzerland Nathalie Chuard.