UPDATE - Sedition cases against Bangladeshi minority leader

UPDATE WITH DISMISSAL OF TWO CASES, COMMENTS OF PM SHEIKH HASINA

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Sedition cases have been filed against a minority leader of Bangladesh who made allegations to U.S. President Donald Trump of the disappearence of 37 million religious minority from the country.

Cases were filed against Priya Saha, one of the organizing secretaries of Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council, a non-profit organization established to protect the human rights of religious and ethnic minorities in Bangladesh.

Ms. Saha, whose husband is a government official here in Dhaka, sought Trump’s help to protect religious minorities in Bangladesh.

Supreme Court lawyer and International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) prosecutor Barrister Syed Sayedul Haque Suman and Executive Committee member of Dhaka Bar Association Advocate Md Ibrahim Khalil filed two separate cases on Sunday, local daily Dhaka Tribune reported.

One of the lawyers has requested the court for issuance of an arrest warrant against Priya Saha, it added.

Both requests for a sedition case against Priya were later dismissed as there has to be a government approval for a sedition case in Bangladesh.

Two other cases were filed against Priya out of Dhaka.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has disapproved a planned government initiative to expose Priya Saha to sedition charges, reported the state-run news agency.

In the meantime, the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh in a statement on Saturday said “Government of Bangladesh strongly protests against all the blatant lies told by Ms. Priya Saha to President Trump and condemns her remarks in the strongest possible terms.”

“It appears that there was an ulterior motive behind Ms. Saha’s absolutely false and concocted stories that were targeted to malign Bangladesh,” the statement added, drawing attention to organizers of such a big international event to invite ‘responsible individuals’.

Earlier on Friday, the U.S. ambassador in Dhaka Earl R. Miller during a visit to a Buddhist Monastery in Dhaka told the reporters that the allegation made by the Bangladeshi citizen was incorrect and unfounded.

He said the communal harmony in Bangladesh is ''praiseworthy''.

U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office earlier in the week met with 27 survivors of religious persecution from 16 countries, including Bangladesh, North Korea and Myanmar.

In a video clip that went viral Friday on social media, Saha is heard speaking to Trump.

“Sir, I'm from Bangladesh…37 million Hindus, Buddhists and Christians are disappeared. Please help us -- for the Bangladeshi people. We want to stay in our country.”

She also said there are 18 million people from minority groups in Bangladesh.

“My request is, please help us. We don’t want to leave our country. Just help us stay. I've lost my home. They've burned my home. They (have) taken away my land, but no judgment (has) yet (been) taken. Please, please.”

Trump is heard asking her: “Who took the land and home?”

In reply, she said Muslim fundamentalist groups. “Always, they're getting the political shelter. Always.”