Tureen Afroz, a former public prosecutor who performed a pivotal function in prosecuting struggle crimes dedicated in the course of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation Battle, was brutally attacked by a mob in her own residence on August 5. The attackers pressured their manner into her residence, lower her hair and inflicted accidents, calling into query her loyalty to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
In an interview with India At present TV, Afroz recounted the harrowing expertise and revealed the moments earlier than and after the assault. She stated the mob questioned her for not sporting hijab, lower her hair and likewise damage her by stabbing her leg with a pencil a number of occasions.
“On August 5, once I heard from the media that Sheikh Hasina had left the nation, I advised my boss to not oppose anybody who may come and trigger hassle,” he stated. “I ordered him to not quarrel with them.”
Describing the assault, Afroz stated: “It was 7am when a procession handed by my home. A gaggle of males approached my supervisor and demanded to see the CCTV footage, claiming that they wished to evaluate movies of the violence that had occurred. My supervisor allowed them to enter.”
The previous prosecutor, who had been preserving a low profile because of the more and more tense scenario in Bangladesh, was taken unexpectedly when the lads entered her bed room.
“I used to be sitting in my room when the lads got here in and requested if they may discuss to me. I used to be in shock as a result of the lads had entered my room and I used to be questioning the place my 16-year-old daughter was,” Afroz recollects. “I used to be afraid of what might have occurred outdoors.”
“After they requested to talk to me, I knew one thing was improper. They requested me why I wasn’t sporting a hijab. I advised them sure, I ought to put on one. They insulted me. They stated I used to be sufficiently old, however that I used to be behaving like a prostitute and requested me if I agreed with them. I stated sure, I agreed.”
Through the confrontation, the attackers questioned Afroz’s look and behavior. “They requested me why I don’t put on a hijab. I advised them, ‘Sure, I ought to put on one.’ They insulted me. They stated I used to be sufficiently old, however I used to be behaving like a prostitute and requested me if I agreed with them. I advised them, ‘Sure, I agree.’”
She stated she went together with their insults in an try and appease them.
“At the moment, I didn’t know if my daughter was secure, or what the situation of my home and the opposite residents within the constructing have been like. I used to be afraid that if I resisted, they might kill me.”
The scenario worsened when the attackers took a pair of scissors and lower her hair.
“They then took a pencil and stabbed me within the leg, whereas accusing me of not leaving with Sheikh Hasina and asking me why I used to be nonetheless within the nation,” Afroz added.
Afroz, who’s a diabetic affected person, confirmed the black marks on her legs on account of torture.
The attackers then demanded that Afroz publicly recant his work as a struggle crimes prosecutor, insisting that he go dwell to denounce his previous actions and apologize to the nation. “They advised me they would offer me with a script for the video,” he stated.
Regardless of the trauma he has confronted, Afroz stays agency in his resolution to remain in Bangladesh. “I cannot depart my nation even when my life is taken,” he stated.
Tureen Afroz is amongst lots of of people that have been attacked prior to now two weeks amid political unrest in Bangladesh.
