DHAKA: A Bangladesh mayor who refused to permit a mural depicting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s father on religious grounds was arrested Wednesday, police said.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was Bangladesh’s first leader and since his daughter took power in 2009, authorities have erected more than 1,000 murals and monuments to venerate him.
Scores of people have also been charged for defaming him under the country’s notorious internet laws, which rights groups say have been used by Hasina to silence dissent.
Abbas Ali, the mayor of western Rajshahi city, found himself in the spotlight last month after an audio clip of his comments against a proposed Mujib mural went viral.
“This is not correct according to Islamic shariah,” he had said.
“That’s why I won’t keep it. I will build everything as it’s planned, except for this last part.”
His comments triggered protests in his home town. The mayor initially claimed the clip was fake, but later apologised on Facebook and fled town. Police arrested Ali from a hotel in the capital Dhaka on Wednesday, spokesman Khandaker Al Moin told AFP.
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