Zakir Hossain Shawon, kitchen assistant at the Holey Artisan Bakery – who police say was a suspect in last week’s deadly attack on a Dhaka café – has died in custody. His family insists that the 18-year-old was a hostage and allege torture by security forces.
According to an AFP report, police killed five attackers and arrested Shawon along with another man over “suspicious activities”, treating him as a suspect – a claim vehemently rejected by his family, who say he was taken hostage like the other victims.
Nur Khan Liton, the head of Ain o Salish Kendra, a leading human rights group, said there were doubts about Shawon’s involvement in the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State.
Abdus Sattar, Shawon’s father, demanded an investigation into his death. He said that his son was innocent, as well as the main breadwinner of the family.
His whole body had marks of torture. There were marks of curdled blood in many places. One of his eyes and two knees were blackened. His wrists were blackened. It seems he was hanged by ropes tied to his wrists.Abdus Sattar
The police and military representatives, however, denied that Shawon had been tortured.
He was held because of suspicious activities. We did not have any opportunity to interrogate him since he was injured and hospitalised.Dhaka Police Spokesperson
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