Joy vows to fight on to free his mother

---

With Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina detained by the interim government, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy vents his anger about the arrest of his mother in an exclusive interview with the bdnews24.com.
"The way the government is dealing with my mother is hardly legal", he says. He vows to battle it out in court and free his mother from jail.
bdnews24.com: What's your reaction to the arrest of your mother now?
Joy: You should be able to well understand how I'm doing at the moment. I'm most concerned about my mother's health and the situation she is in. But you're all aware of the greater disaster that my family had to suffer in 1975. My mother was arrested by a military government in the past too. We've become used to such situations and so we're not sitting idle, you see. We'll fight such conspiracies with confidence.
bdnews24.com: Back in Bangladesh, people, especially AL supporters, criticised the government for what they said was maltreating Sheikh Hasina, who is also a former prime minister? How do you respond to that?
Joy: This was done just to shut her up, I believe. She was detained a few days after she had spoken about the DGFI's activities. But the government forgot that she isn't just anybody. She's an ex-prime minister of the country. No other country would arrest its former head of government before she's convicted of any offence. After detention, she wasn't allowed to see anybody or even speak to her lawyers. This arrest was simply to silence her.
bdnews24.com: You said you would launch a protest campaign staying there in the US. How would you do that?
Joy: Our campaign in the US started right from the day she was arrested. People launched protests in front of Bangladesh embassies in different cities of the US, the UK and other EU countries, the Middle East, Australia and Japan. We are in touch with the parliamentarians of different countries. AL leaders and activists abroad have decided to stop remittances to Bangladesh for at least a week.
bdnews24.com: Was it you who asked expatriate Bangladeshis to stop sending remittances to Bangladesh?
Joy: No, no, they are doing it on their own. They're just keeping me informed.
bdnews24.com: Is it right to stop sending money from abroad?
Joy: Well, we've been pushed to the wall. The way the government is dealing with my mother is hardly legal. So, we are doing what we can think of from outside of the country. The people of Bangladesh are with us. If a group of generals and un-elected advisers grabs power it will do greater harm to the country. Spiralling commodity prices and falling investments have deepened domestic crises. We must do whatever it takes to reverse the trend to stop the country going 30 years back.
bdnews24.com: What steps are you planning personally to free your mother?
Joy: I'm in touch with the US congressmen I know and some acquaintances in the state department. I'm trying to give them the real picture and how the government is handling the matter. They are all concerned. We're doing our best to build pressure from all sides.
bdnews24.com: Have you been able to communicate with the AL leaders back home?
Joy: Yes, we are in touch.
bdnews24.com: Tell us about your reactions to Khaleda Zia's statement demanding freedom for your mother.
Joy: I am grateful to Khaleda Zia for what she said and I'd like to thank her. Khaleda Zia is also a former prime minister and she too has been under a form of arrest in her own home. No heads of government in any other country have been treated with so much contempt!
bdnews24.com: Do you have any plan to come back home soon?
Joy: I must return to Bangladesh when the time comes. I can't tell you exactly when. I have learnt that the government is contemplating charges against me. Well, I've been abroad since I was four - let's see how this government can implicate me, in how many false cases. I don't feel intimidated and I'll return to Bangladesh at the right time, I assure you.
bdnews24.com: Are you planning to send in lawyers from abroad to help fight your mother's case in court?
Joy: Yes, but I think the government will create obstacles once we take steps to do that too. The government surely doesn't want my mother's case to be lawfully settled. They want to play a drama, prosecute her and somehow detain her. Let's see how far we may succeed. I believe the verdict in her case has already been written.
bdnews24.com: What makes you think it's pre-determined?
Joy: To disable her politically, I believe, she will most probably be convicted and sentenced to some years in jail, which will be to kill her public life forever.