Bangladesh court again rejects bail for Hindu leader charged with sedition

Krishna Das Prabhu faces sedition charges for leading rallies demanding better security for minority groups in Chattogram city.

A court in Bangladesh has again denied bail to an outspoken Hindu leader advocating for the protection of minority groups in the country.

Krishna Das Prabhu did not appear at the hearing at the court in the southeastern city of Chattogram, where Metropolitan Sessions Judge Saiful Islam rejected his bail plea, according to Public Prosecutor Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan.

Security was tight at the hearing, with police and soldiers guarding the court. Violence had erupted following a previous bail hearing in November, with Prabhu’s followers accused of killing a Muslim public prosecutor.

Prabhu, 39, was arrested for allegedly disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag during a rally in Chattogram and faces sedition charges.

Hindu groups allege there have been hundreds of attacks on Hindus since August when the nearly 16-year government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was overthrown.

“He faces serious charges like sedition and others involving the security and sovereignty of our country,” Bhuiyan told The Associated Press news agency by telephone.

“We argued in the court that if he gets bail it could create anarchy as we saw in the past that he triggered violence on the court premises by calling thousands of his supporters to protest. So, we moved against his bail plea as we believed that he could misuse his bail.”

Prabhu is a spokesman for the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatan Jagaran Jote group. He is also associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), widely known as the Hare Krishna movement.

Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee, a lawyer representing Prabhu, said they would appeal the