3-day remand granted for Mamun who was arrested over alleged extremist links

A court has granted police permission to question Md Mamun Hossain, 26, on a three-day remand after his arrest at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka over allegations of links to an extremist organisation.

During the remand hearing, Mamun maintained that he was innocent and said he had been travelling to Qatar on a work visa.

However, the prosecution alleged that he had previously been involved in extremist activities both in Bangladesh and abroad, in addition to facing earlier cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

On Monday afternoon, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jewel Rana granted the three-day remand following a hearing. Public Prosecutor Harun-Or-Rashid confirmed the development to Prothom Alo.

Police arrested Mamun at around 1:30 am on Sunday from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

According to the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), officers arrested Mamun from the immigration detention room following intelligence reports alleging his involvement with an extremist organisation.

Police also seized his passport, mobile phone and other personal belongings.

The investigating officer, CTTC Sub-Inspector (SI) Md Matiur Rahman Molla, produced Mamun before the court on Monday and sought a seven-day remand after showing him arrested under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

In the remand application, the investigating officer stated that authorities needed to examine Mamun’s mobile phone and other digital devices.

Investigators also sought to question him about his communications through Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and Instagram, his possible associates, the source of his funds, the actual purpose of his foreign travel, and whether he had planned any acts of sabotage.

Meanwhile, the defence sought the cancellation of the remand request and applied for bail.

During the hearing, the magistrate asked the investigating officer to explain the justification for seeking remand. Defence lawyers Sharif Wahid Bakhtiar and Mofizul Islam argued that their client was innocent and described the case as an act of harassment.

With the court’s permission, Mamun addressed the court from the dock. He said that although two cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act against him remained pending, he had been released on bail in both cases and no court had prohibited him from travelling abroad.

He told the court, “I was travelling to Qatar on a work visa, but I was detained without any reason.”

He repeatedly maintained that he was innocent and reminded the court that he had secured bail in both pending cases.

The magistrate responded, “You have misused the law. Did you obtain the court’s permission before travelling abroad?”

Public Prosecutor Harun-Or-Rashid justified the remand request by telling the court that Mamun had travelled from Bangladesh to France via Portugal in 2020. French authorities allegedly deported him later that year over allegations of involvement in extremist activities.

After his return to Bangladesh, police arrested him. The prosecutor further stated that authorities arrested him again in 2024 in another Anti-Terrorism Act case, during which he gave a judicial statement acknowledging his involvement in extremist activities.

The prosecution also alleged that he had links with members of “Fatah Combat”, who were recently arrested in Jatrabari, Dhaka, on allegations of conducting extremist activities under the guise of martial arts training.

Following the prosecution’s submissions, the magistrate asked the investigating officer why these allegations had not been included in the remand application.

He instructed investigators to ensure that they properly present all significant information in future applications.

The prosecution also informed the court that police had seized multiple mobile phones from Mamun.

Investigators said they needed to analyse the devices and question him further to identify his possible associates, funding sources and overseas contacts.

Standing in the dock, Mamun also claimed before the court that authorities had detained him at the airport for 20 days without acknowledgement when he attempted to travel abroad in 2019.

He alleged that police later showed him arrested in a case filed at Gandaria police station and forced him to give a confession after threatening him with an extrajudicial killing.

The defence lawyers reiterated that Mamun was an innocent man who had been travelling to Qatar on a work visa and had no links to any extremist organisation.

After hearing both sides, the court rejected the bail application and granted a three-day remand.

According to court documents, Mamun Hossain, a resident of South Paikpara in Tongibari upazila of Munshiganj District, previously faced multiple cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act filed at Tejgaon Industrial area police station and Gandaria police station. Those cases are currently awaiting trial.