Tensions over blasphemy allegations have boiled over at Bangladesh’s University of Asia Pacific (UAP), where two professors were unceremoniously sacked, prompting fierce criticism from the Paris-based Justice Makers Bangladesh in France (JMBF). The human rights watchdog decried the January 18 decision as a perilous erosion of academic autonomy in the country.
Assistant Professor Layeka Bashir and Associate Professor ASM Mohsin, key figures in UAP’s Basic Sciences and Humanities Department—with Mohsin as its head—were let go amid protests by hardline students and mobilized crowds. JMBF slammed the university for acting without due inquiry or defense opportunities for the accused, even as a committee continued its review of the charges.
Labeling the episode a violation of Bangladesh’s foundational laws, global human rights standards, and justice principles, JMBF emphasized the arbitrary timing and procedural lapses. ‘Dismissing educators under external pressure without transparency undermines the very essence of education,’ the group asserted.
Robert John Paul Simon, JMBF’s esteemed French advisor and human rights veteran, lambasted the sequence: ‘Personal social media views twisted into Islamophobia tags, followed by mob frenzy, intimidation, and forced ousters—this reveals an administration more eager to humor thuggery than defend its own.’
Beyond individual injustice, this case signals broader dangers to Bangladesh’s learning ecosystem and speech rights. Free thinking and bold research could wither if academe succumbs to such vigilantism, JMBF warned.
In a call to action, the organization insisted on reversing the firings forthwith, launching a fair international-caliber investigation, and securing the professors’ well-being. As echoes of this scandal reach global forums, Bangladesh’s higher education stands at a crossroads between tradition and tolerance.