DHAKA, 29 April 2008 — An estimated 2.5 million people in Dhaka have signed a petition asking Bangladesh’s emergency government for the release of detained former Prime Minister Hasina Wajed.
The Dhaka unit of Awami League yesterday submitted a memorandum to the chief adviser’s office containing signatures of some 2.5 million people demanding unconditional release of Hasina.
Talking to reporters outside the chief adviser’s office, Awami League General Secretary Quamrul Islam expressed hope that Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed would initiate moves to free Hasina.
Hasina has been detained in a makeshift jail inside the parliament compound in Dhaka since her arrest in July 2007 on charges of corruption. Hasina, who ruled Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001, has denied the charges, saying they are false and motivated, and designed to destroy her political career.
Acting Awami League chief Zillur Rahman earlier said the party would collect more signatures countrywide to achieve the freedom of Hasina, who has been suffering from erratic blood pressure as well as ear and eye ailments. On April 20, Jubo Mohila League, the women’s wing of the party, submitted a memorandum to the chief adviser’s office with 200,000 signatures seeking her release.
