Detained students should get bail

We are concerned by the arrest of at least 22 students of various universities who have been accused of different offences under some laws including the controversial Section 57 of the ICT Act. The accused university students (including female students) have been repeatedly denied bail.

While we are not commenting on the veracity of the offences they are accused of and that are yet to be proven, we plead that they may be granted bail. Someone arrested for bailable offences has a right to get bail. In the case of non-bailable offences- the court can, at its discretion, grant bail to the accused as it has in the past. The arrested are not hardened criminals but young university students who are prone to act out of emotion as is customary at their age. Their education has been severely hampered due to such detentions. The movement they had taken part in was for a cause—road safety- was one that was accepted by everyone including the government. In fact we have a long tradition of student movements in our history and this too was one that reflected this tradition.

It is worrying that some of these students have been sent to remand which, we all know, involves some sort of physical or mental torture. This is unacceptable and goes against the principles of human rights.

In view of the fact that they are young, students and first time offenders, we hope the court will give them special consideration and grant them bail while the legal process continues. The principle of innocent until proven guilty should apply to all.

In total at least 97 people (including the students) have been detained on similar charges related to the road safety movement yet none of the attackers who ruthlessly assaulted students, journalists and other ordinary citizens on the streets, have been apprehended. These only raise questions surrounding the arbitrary detentions of students and other citizens.

The cases can easily be investigated with the students out in bail. Given the impending Eid which is an occasion of sacrifice and celebration we think that these students should be allowed out on bail to spend the Eid with their families.