URGENT APPEAL: Request for Prompt Action on Alleged Police Torture in Barisal

Mr. Asaduzzaman Khan, M.P.

Honorable Minister

Ministry of Home Affairs

Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka-1000

Email: minister@mha.gov.bd

Greetings from the human rights organization Justicemakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF)!

Justicemakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), established on the principles of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (Bill of Rights), has been continuously dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights since its inception. It is the constitutional sacred duty of the state to uphold the fundamental rights, including human rights, of every citizen of Bangladesh.

STATEMENT: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) Condemns Arrest of Lesbian Individual in Dhaka

Paris, France; February 20, 2024: The France-based rights organization JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) has expressed deep concern and anger over the arrest of a sexual minority lesbian girl from Dhaka, who has been arrested and sent to jail custody on false and fabricated kidnapping charges in Barishal, solely because of her sexual orientation and same-sex relationship.

According to news published in various newspapers in Bangladesh, Mim Akhter, the daughter of Sahidul Islam from Bahadurpur village in Muladi upazila of Barisal, fell in love with Rober Liza, a jim trainer and a former cricket player of the National Women's Cricket Team of Bangladesh. Later, she divorced her husband, as she was forced into marriage by her parents about five years ago. On January 25, 2024, she finally ran away with her girlfriend, Rober Liza, for the third time after repeated attempts and married her. However, her girlfriend, Rober Liza, was arrested in the kidnapping case filed by her mother. Police arrested her girlfriend, Rober Liza, along with her from Dhaka on February 12, 2024.