A Dhaka court on Sunday accepted a case filed by cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore over alleged torture on him in custody after his arrest under the Digital Security Act (DSA).
Dhaka Metropolitan and Session Court Judge KM Imrul Kayes took the complaint into cognizance and asked the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to submit a report by April 15 after investigating the case.
Besides, the court also asked the Director of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) to form a three-member medical board to examine the injuries of Kishore.
The medical board will examine how old the injuries found on Kishore’s body and it has to submit a report within 24 hours.
Kishore appeared before the court and narrated the torture ‘carried out’ on him in custody on March 10.
Barua said Kishore was “tortured” in custody and his ear-drum has been damaged.
Cartoonist Kishore was released from Kashimpur Central Jail on March 4, a day after the High Court granted a six-month bail to him in a case filed under the Digital Security Act (DSA).
Earlier, Rab personnel arrested writer Mushtaq Ahmed, also a businessman, and cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore from their respective homes in Kakrail and Lalmatia areas on May 5, 2020 on charges of spreading disinformation against the government on social media.
A case was filed under the Digital Security Act against them and nine others with Ramna Police Station for posting anti-government remarks on Facebook.
Later, a court sent cartoonist Kishore and writer Mushtaq to jail in the case.
Calls for Mushtaq’s release were widespread and sustained throughout his time in prison. Soon after his arrest, more than 300 dignitaries in Bangladesh issued a joint statement demanding his release, alongside cartoonist Ahmed Kishore.
Amnesty International reiterated the demand in a statement in January, saying the duo (Kishore and Mushtaq) had been arrested “solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression.”
Writer Mushtaq Ahmed, 53, died on February 25 in Kashimpur Jail, Gazipur, leading to a huge outcry on social media platforms and protests by student bodies in Dhaka.
