Rashed Khan Menon, leader of the Workers’ Party of Bangladesh (WPB) and a prominent face of the country’s secular and anti-imperialist movements, was arrested on August 22, 2024, and has been in prison ever since. On the one year anniversary of his imprisonment, left and progressive forces in Bangladesh reiterated their demand for the immediate release of all political prisoners in the country and an end to all forms of political persecution.

The demand for Khan’s release was also raised by the International Peoples Assembly (IPA), which issued a statement on Thursday.

“We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, including the respected president of the Workers’ Party of Bangladesh, a key organizer of the liberation war, the unwavering voice of the working class, and a lifelong revolutionary committed to fighting imperialism, fundamentalism, and capitalism,” the IPA said in the statement.

In a meeting on Friday, August 22, WPB reiterated that Khan’s continued incarceration based on false and malicious charges is nothing but an indication of the country’s interim regime choosing a “heinous path of political revenge” over the needs of establishing justice and order in the country. It also demanded the dropping of all those charges against Khan and his immediate release.

Khan, 81, was arrested from his home on August 21 last year. His arrest followed the resignation and exile of prime minister Sheikh Hasina and formation of an interim government in the country after students led anti-quota protests.

Khan was initially charged with the murder of a protester named Abdul Wadud in July 2024. However, the number of murder cases against him increased over the following days.

Despite his advanced age and failing health, Khan has been repeatedly denied bail and so far he has been charged with a total of over 50 murders of protesters. This is despite the fact that at the time of the protests, which went on for over a month, he did not hold any administrative position.

Khan was the sole member of the elected parliament from WPB and chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on education during the time of the protests. The parliament was later dissolved.

WPB was part of the Awami League-led 14 party alliance. Menon had served as a minister in the Hasina government between 2014 and 2018.

During the anti-quota agitation, WPB and Khan had actively supported the demands raised by the students for reform in the quota system.

Politics of Revenge

Remembering Khan’s contributions during the liberation struggle against Pakistan in 1971, WPB claimed “the current interim government of independent Bangladesh has arrested this son of Bengal, and under the guise of court proceedings and intelligence interrogations, is subjecting him to harassment that has shocked and shamed the conscience of the world.”

The arrest and incarceration of Menon and several other leaders of the Awami League-led alliance is widely seen as a form of political revenge undertaken by the interim government under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

The interim government has been accused of failing to maintain law and order during its initial months in power. This resulted in massive attacks on the League and its allies throughout the country and killing of their workers and leaders.

The attacks have also been carried out against the symbols of the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. In February this year, a museum dedicated to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, considered the founder of the nation, was vandalized and demolished by a mob for days under the vigil of the security forces.

The physical attacks on dissenting voices still continue.

Khan and Hasanul Haq Inu, leader of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), were assaulted by lawyers allegedly affiliated with right-wing parties when they were taken to court under police protection.

The interim government has also banned the Awami League from contesting the country’s next elections and has carried out mass arrests of its leaders and activists while threatening an outright ban.

33rd Anniversary of the 1992 near-fatal shooting of Rashed Khan Menon. Photo: WPB

In another meeting, organized by the WPB earlier this week on the 33rd anniversary of a murderous attack on Khan in 1992, several leaders of the left and progressive parties noted how the Yunus government’s policies towards political opponents are harmful for the country’s political advancement and demanded the end of policies of harassment and persecution.

IPA also underlined that since the regime changed last year “the liberation struggle of 1971 and the hard earned emancipation of Bangladesh are now under renewed assault – ideologically, politically, and culturally. The progressive heritage of Bangla – its secular identity, religious harmony, and traditions of democratic thought – is being undermined” under the new regime.


Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch