Nusrat Faria arrested, British journalist strongly reacts!

The arrest of popular actress Nusrat Faria has raised international concern. On Sunday (May 19), British journalist and human rights activist David Bergman expressed deep concern about the issue in a post on social media Facebook. He wrote, “The arrest of Nusrat Faria, who played the role of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is very worrying.”

Bergman commented, “Bangladesh has now reached a point where just being a general supporter of the Awami League or having close contact with the party is enough to make someone a target.” He said, “In this reality, many in the country no longer feel safe. Because, the fear of arrest on baseless charges at any moment has now become a reality.”

He added, “Bangladesh’s so-called new ‘civil society’ no longer cares about justice or due process. Rather, they are working with a vindictive spirit. There is no major political force visible in the country to protect basic human rights.”

David Bergman expressed his anger in his post, saying, “This is not justice in any way. This is a process of revenge under the shadow of impunity. This is a terrible signal that is terrifying for any person who believes in the rule of law—no matter what ideology they believe in.”

Meanwhile, on Sunday (May 18) morning, Nusrat Faria was detained by the immigration police while leaving Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Thailand. She was later taken into the custody of the Metropolitan Detective (DB) police.

Earlier, on April 29, 17 artists, including Nusrat Faria, were named in an attempted murder case filed at the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court. The plaintiff in the case, Enamul Haque, named a total of 284 people, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and named 300-400 other unidentified individuals as accused.

The charge sheet in the case states that Nusrat Faria was one of the funders of the campaign on behalf of the ruling party. Along with her, the case also names actresses Apu Biswas, Nipun Akhter, Ashna Habib Bhabna, Zayed Khan, Suborna Mustafa, Rokeya Prachi, Sohana Saba, Meher Afroz Shaon, Jyotika Jyoti, Simon Sadiq and Azizul Hakim.

The incident has spread panic in the cultural arena and allegations of politically motivated harassment have been raised. David Bergman's statement has further intensified this concern.