ব্রেকিং নিউজ: সিনেটর কেনেডীর চিঠি

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.”