The 10 Hizb ut-Tahrir leaders and activists arrested on September 18 were released from Rajshahi Central Jail Tuesday night.

They were arrested in Rajshahi on suspicion of their involvement in militancy and inciting anti-state activities.

The release came after police submitted before a court a discharge report. Based on the report, the Rajshahi District and Sessions Judge's Court earlier that day granted them bail. Hizb ut-Tahrir had threatened of waging a movement to oust the government.

In the discharge report, police said nothing was found to sue the Tahrir men. Police only two weeks ago told the media that they would launch an investigation and would seek green signal from the government high-ups to bringing sedition charges against them.

A number of Hizb ut-Tahrir activists, many of whom went to Rajshahi from the capital, greeted the freed people at the jail gate around 8:00pm.

"They were freed as we received the court order to release them," said Harun-ur Rashid, Senior Jail Superintendent of Rajshahi. "Necessary papers (for their release) reached in time at the jail but procedures took some time," he said about the delayed release of the arrestees.

On Tuesday, police submitted the discharge report with a court ending the investigation, said Ramjan Ali, officer-in-charge (OC) of Boalia Police Station. "No ground or evidence was found for filing any regular case against them," he said quoting the report.

"There was no influence as we investigated the matter and found no reason to go further," said the OC replying to a question.

Hizb ut-Tahrir Coordinator and Dhaka University teacher Syed Golam Mowla and Ahmed Jamal Iqbal, teacher of South East University and a senior member of the Islamist group, were arrested along with eight others on September 18 before a scheduled press conference in Rajshahi.

Invoking Section-54 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), police showed them arrested on suspicion of using religious sentiment to foment anti-state activities and having involvement in militancy. Police had seized many leaflets and booklets carrying anti-state statements.

A court later sent them to jail rejecting their bail petitions. The accused appealed to the District and Sessions Judge's Court after the lower court rejected their bail petitions. They were finally granted bail on September 30.

Protesting the arrests on September 19, Hizb ut-Tahrir Chief Coordinator Mohiuddin Ahmed in Dhaka threatened a movement to oust the government. He said, "The Hizb ut-Tahrir will stomp the city streets and no one will be able to live in peace on the soil of Bangladesh if our leaders are not freed within 48 hours."

Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP) Commissioner Mahbub Mohsin earlier told The Daily Star that the arrest of Hizb ut-Tahrir leaders was not surprising. "We had been looking for the organisation's leaders and activists in connection with distributing leaflets at Baro Masjid," he said.

The Hizb ut-Tahrir men distributed leaflets in front of the Baro Masjid in Rajshahi on September 9.

"The language of the leaflet and activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir were objectionable and are clearly anti-state as the contents of their leaflets distributed are provocative and call for militancy and toppling the government," the OC had said earlier.

The leaflet reads, "Our rulers have discarded the Quran and Sunnah... They have handed us over to our enemies. In this holy month of Ramadan we have to take oath to dethrone our rulers and establish the rule of Khilafat."

Hizb ut-Tahrir also criticises sending forces in the United Nations peace keeping missions for protecting "enemies" instead of "turning them into the flag bearers of Islam".

The Daily Star