Bangladeshi actor Meher Afroz Shaon arrested on sedition charge: Who is she?

Bangladeshi actor Meher Afroz Shaon was arrested on February 6 and has been detained for questioning by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DMP – DB) for allegedly “conspiring against the state”, i.e. on alleged sedition charges, according to a report by the Dhaka Tribune.

“She was taken into custody from Dhanmondi on Thursday night,” Additional Police Commissioner (DB) Rezaul Karim Mallik told the newspaper, adding that Shaon “was involved in a conspiracy against the state”.

The DMP’s Deputy Commissioner of Media and Public Relations, Muhammad Talebur Rahman, told the paper that Shaon has been detained for “questioning regarding the allegations”.

Who is Meher Afroz Shaon? 

Shaon is the daughter of former advisory council member of the Jamalpur District Awami League, Mohammed Ali and Tahura Ali, an MP for the Awami League from a reserved seat in 1996.

Ali had contested the Jamalpur-5 (Sadar) seat in the last election but did not participate after failing to secure the party’s nomination.

In another report by Dhaka Tribune, it noted that Shaon’s arrest came hours after her father’s house in the Narundi Rail Station area of Jamalpur Sadar Upazila was vandalised and set on fire by a “group of students and locals” at around 6.30 pm on February 6.

The group had organised a procession in Narundi Bazar, which moved through several roads before heading to Ali’s house where attackers threw bricks and stones before setting it on fire, sources told the paper.

Bangladesh’s Interim Govt Concerned Over Vandalism, Arson Incidents

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s interim government headed by Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, has expressed concern over “attempts of vandalism and arson” attacks across the country, PTI reported.

The statement referenced deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s father, and country’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s 32 Dhanmondi residence was demolished by a mob on August 5, 2024.

Chief Adviser Yunus’s press wing issued the latest statement on February 6 saying, “the interim government observes with deep concern that some people and quarters are trying to vandalise and set on fire different institutions and establishments throughout the country”.

“The government will prevent such activities with a strong hand. The interim government is ready to protect the life and property of the citizens,” it said and promised stern punitive actions against the persons and quarters concerned by law enforcement agencies.

Chief Adviser’s press wing in the statement blamed Hasina’s statements for driving the demolition, adding that she insulted and disdained those who sacrificed themselves in the July Uprising. She spoke in the same tone she used to speak when she was in power by threatening everyone involved in the mass uprising, it added.