Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh has demanded the immediate release of Maulana Ainul Haque Kasemi, who is imprisoned in connection with the case over the vandalism of the Prothom Alo office. The demand was made in a statement issued on Friday afternoon by Hefazat’s Joint Secretary General Maulana Azizul Haque Islamabadi. He said Kasemi has been in jail for one hundred days without trial, calling it a clear violation of human rights. The statement also urged the current BNP government to release all those allegedly innocent in the case.

Islamabadi claimed that Kasemi had no involvement in the vandalism and was falsely implicated because of his criticism of Prothom Alo. He described the detention as inhumane and accused the newspaper of ignoring the issue. The statement further called on civil society, human rights groups, and Islamic parties to raise their voices for the release of Kasemi and other detained clerics.

He also criticized Prothom Alo and The Daily Star for what he termed Islamophobic editorial policies and alleged past defamation of political leaders, calling for legal action against their editors.