We’re forced to give false statement, say six conveners

The six quota reform movement coordinators who were released said they did not want to give a statement calling off the movement while in police custody, reports bdnews24.com.
They say the Detective Branch (DB) of police forced them to sit at a dining table for the video and make a false statement to the media.
The joint statement from the coordinators was released at 11:30 am on Friday. In addition to sharing the statement with journalists on WhatsApp, it was also posted on Facebook by several protest coordinators.
Three convenors of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement - Md Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, and Abu Baker Majumder - were brought from Dhaka's Ganashasthaya Nagar Hospital to the DB office on July 26.
The following day, two other coordinators - Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah - were picked up and taken from the Science Laboratory area to the DB office.
On July 28, another coordinator Nusrat Tabassum was forcefully picked up from her home by DB personnel.
Dhaka Metropolitan DB Additional Commissioner Harunor Rashid had previously said they had taken the coordinators into custody for questioning and their own security.
On July 28, in a video message from the DB office, the six coordinators announced an end to the quota protest movement.
That night Harunor had posted a video of him and the six coordinators eating together at a table. This led to widespread criticism on social media.
On July 31, Dhaka Metropolitan Police moved him out of DB. He is currently holding the post of DMP additional commissioner (crime).
In their latest statement, the six coordinators said the video statement they made in custody was not at their own will.
No statement calling off the movement can be made from DB custody, they said.
No final decision on the movement will be taken without the participation of all coordinators and agitating students across the country, they said.
"We were forced to sit at the dining table and videotaped at the DB office. After assuring us of our release, our families were made to wait for 13 hours as a false statement was given to the media. When our teachers came to see us, they were not allowed in."
The six coordinators went on a hunger strike for 32 hours while in custody at the office, the statement said.
Nahid, Asif, and Abu Baker started the strike on the night of July 30. When they learnt of the strike, the other three joined as well.
"The hunger strike was kept secret from our families and the media. After a hunger strike lasting nearly 32 hours, the DB chief took the final decision to release the six coordinators and the strike ended.