MEA Reiterates Call for Fair Trial of Chinmoy Krishna Das: ‘Our Expectation is a Just Trial’

New Delhi, India: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday reiterated its call for fair trial of Hindus arrested in Bangladesh including Iskcon priest Chinmoy Krishna Das. 

"Regarding the release (of Chinmoy Krishna Das) in Bangladesh, our expectation is that the ongoing proceedings in Bangladesh will ensure that individuals arrested in this case receive a fair trial," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a press briefing. 

"This remains our key expectation," says MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal," he added.

Bangladesh Court Denies Bail to Chinmoy Das

This comes after a court in Bangladesh denied bail to a Hindu priest and a former ISKCON leader in a sedition case.

Chinmoy Krishna Das was not brought to court for the hearing and appeared virtually.

Das, formerly with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), was arrested at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on November 25.

At the hearing, “the state objected to the bail, saying that it was a sedition case and the highest punishment was life in prison,” Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, president of the Chattogram District Bar Association, was quoted as saying by BDNews24.com.

“Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Saiful Islam rejected the bail plea after hearing arguments from both sides for around 30 minutes,” Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Advocate Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan told The Daily Star.

Das' lawyer, Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee, said they plan to appeal to the High Court for bail, it added.

Now a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote organisation, Das' bail was rejected on November 26 by Chattogram's 6th Metropolitan Magistrate Kazi Shariful Islam in the sedition case. He was sent to jail.

The decision angered members of the Hindu community, who staged a protest around the prison van outside the court leading to violent clashes during which a lawyer Saiful Islam Alif was killed.

There have been a series of attacks on Hindu community members and their places of worship after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power after deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country on August 5 following a student-led protest.