Jamaat urges authorities to free woman held for Facebook activity

Bangla Press Desk:   Jamaat-e-Islami has spoken out in parliament regarding the arrest of a woman named Sawda Sumi in Bhola for her comments on Facebook regarding the energy crisis.

Calling the arrest a “portent of a fascist government”, opposition MP Rafiqul Islam Khan demanded the woman's release and withdrawal of the case against her by Tuesday.

He raised the issue as a point of order in the 13th parliament on Tuesday. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed presided over the session.

Rafiqul said, "The police have arrested a woman named Sawda Sumi for sharing a Facebook status. It is said that she was arrested and a case was filed 'on orders from above.' My question is - who do they mean by 'orders from above'?"

He made a demand to the government through the speaker, stating that the woman should be released and the case should be withdrawn by the end of the day’s office hours.

Rafiqul said, “This arrest is a portent of a fascist government. But this government is a democratic government, so why can’t people speak?”

In response to Rafiqul’s statement, Speaker Hafiz said that the matter is not being taken up as a point of order because the relevant rules were not mentioned in this regard.

However, the speaker said that the matter was also brought to his attention by the leader of the opposition.

“Nevertheless, since you raised the matter and the leader of the opposition has contacted me about this, I have tried to resolve the problem.”

The speaker also commented that it is not right to issue ultimatums using “the language of the streets” in parliament.

He said, “If necessary, according to the rules, you will bring it in the form of a proposal.”

“Every day, many people make various comments about the government on Facebook, and if everything is taken into account, the parliament will not be able to do anything else.”

Still, the matter is being investigated, Hafiz said.