Amnesty demands teacher Hriday Mondal's immediate release

International human rights watchdog Amnesty International has called for the immediate and unconditional release Hriday Chandra Mondal.

International human rights watchdog Amnesty International has called for the immediate and unconditional release Hriday Chandra Mondal, a schoolteacher who was arrested on charges of 'hurting religious sentiment' after he discussed the distinction between religion and science in the classroom.
Condemning his arrest, the organisation raised concerns about the 'arbitrary detention' and 'growing criminalisation' of the right to freedom of expression in Bangladesh in a statement on Saturday.
The teacher's case only exacerbates the situation and represents a direct threat for one of the last bastions of free expression in the country, it said.
Hriday had been teaching mathematics and science at Binodpur Ramkumar High School at Panchasar in Munshiganj’s Sadar Upazila for 22 years.
On Mar 20, a group of students of class 10 took a mobile phone into the classroom and secretly recorded what he said in response to their queries on the relations and differences between science and religion.
According to the clip they later shared on social media, Hriday had argued that “religion is a matter of faith” while “science looks at evidence”.
Two days after the recording was made, the school’s headteacher told the media that students and other people from the community were demonstrating outside the school, demanding punishment for Hriday.
Later that day, an office assistant of the high school filed a case against the teacher, who was subsequently arrested.
He has since been held in judicial custody after being denied bail twice. The next bail hearing is scheduled for Apr 10 at the District and Sessions Judges Court.
“It is outrageous that a teacher finds himself behind bars simply for voicing his opinion while teaching a class. Teachers should be free to discuss ideas and opinions of all kinds without fear of reprisals. Hriday Chandra Mondal is solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression and must be released immediately and unconditionally,” said Smriti Singh, deputy regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International.
“Hriday Chandra Mondal’s detention is emblematic of a disturbing trend in Bangladesh where the space for free expression is rapidly shrinking. Detaining a teacher for simply discussing ideas in class sets a dangerous precedent where even challenging students to think critically can now land someone in jail.”