Actor Siddique opens up after nearly 11 months in jail

Popular television actor Siddiqur Rahman Siddique has spoken publicly for the first time following his release after nearly 11 months in prison. He was arrested on April 29, 2025, and spent 10 months and 22 days in jail before being released on March 18 this year.

Siddique, once a regular face on the small screen, later became involved in politics. He sought nomination on the boat symbol multiple times from Tangail and Dhaka but was unsuccessful. Following the political changeover in August 2024, he became entangled in a case.

According to the case documents, a person was shot dead during a protest in front of Subastu Tower in the capital's Gulshan area on July 19, 2024. Siddique was named as an accused in that murder case . He currently has two cases pending against him .

After his release, Siddique said a different feeling was stirring inside him, one difficult to put into words. Regarding his decision not to speak publicly until now, he said he wanted to spend time on his own terms.

Sharing his prison experience, he said, "You actually get a lot of time to think in jail. I used that time properly. I was thinking that I am an artist, I should use the time productively. Allah has changed me. I was not previously engaged in religious practices. In jail, I began reading the Quran. I started praying five times a day. Gradually, change came over me."

He said a line written on the jail wall left a deep impression on him: 'They will keep you safe, I will show you the path of light.' "Since they will keep me safe in jail, I found my own path of light," he said. He also wrote 15 plays, three film scripts, and a book about himself while in prison. He added that the trauma has not yet left him.

Actor Siddique was arrested on Bailey Road in the capital on April 29, 2025, by a mob of 10-15 people who later handed him over to police .