Case filed against 10 officials of July Smrity Foundation

A case has been filed in a Dhaka court against ten officials of the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation on charges of assaulting and torturing “July Warrior” Jahangir Alam.

The case was filed by the victim himself at the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Hasibuzzaman on Thursday, November 6. The court accepted the case and directed the officer-in-charge of Shahbagh Police Station to investigate and submit a report.

The plaintiff’s lawyer, Iltutmish Sawdagar Anee, confirmed the matter.

The accused in the case are July Memorial Foundation’s Senior Verification Officer Ifthekar Hossain, officers Saidur Rahman Shahid, Sagor, Afzalur Rahman Sayem, Fatema Afrin Payel, Alif, Zahid, Mehedi Hasan Prince, Executive Member Sabrina Afroze Shrabonti and Sonia Akter Lubna.

According to the case statement, anti-discrimination movement activist and “July Warrior” Jahangir Alam was injured by police gunfire near Kanchpur Bridge on July 18 last year. The July Memorial Foundation had been playing an active role in assisting the injured and the families of martyrs involved in the anti-discrimination movement.

Later, on May 27 this year, Jahangir Alam went to the July Foundation office at noon with necessary documents for a grant. After meeting the accused, they allegedly took him to a dark room and started beating him. When struck on the head with a GI pipe, he lost consciousness. After regaining consciousness, he was again tortured and pressured to admit being a “fake July warrior”.

The complaint further states that the accused seized his mobile phone, questioned him about his Facebook posts and photos, and demanded to know why he had taken a picture with a BNP leader. Afterwards, they injected him with something and left him unconscious on the road. Later, he received treatment at Narayanganj Khanpur General Hospital.