‘It feels unreal to be out’
The phone number of Sirajum Munira, the elder sister of Khadijatul Kubra, a Jagannath University student who was in jail for fourteen months in Digital Security Act cases, flashed on the screen.
"Hello, it's me Khadija. It feels unreal to be out."
After six failed bail petitions, Khadija was finally on her way back to her home in west Monipuripara, only after serving time for an offence where the only prima facie evidence against her was the fact that she was present – silently so – in the same Zoom meeting where another participant made contentious remarks about the government.
"I cannot explain to you what it will feel like to embrace my mother again," said Khadija.
They had met several times over the past fourteen months, as Khadija flitted in and out of the court for hearings, but each time her hands were bound, or she was flanked by a horde of cops.
Meetings with family members inside the prison also happened behind barricades, under the strict watch of the guards.
"There were women inside the prison who really cared for me, but nothing can be compared to the feeling of being able to embrace my sister right at the jail gate after getting out," said the political science student.
She had walked out of the jail around 9:15am.
Khadija said her mom cooked beef curry for her -- a special day delicacy for the family which runs on the meagre earnings of her migrant worker father.
He works as a house staff in Kuwait.
"But I would not be able to eat it until the evening! I am fasting," said Khadija about a practice he developed in prison.
"Every day I prayed for a miracle. I used to fast on Mondays and Thursdays. And I have been fasting every day from last month till November 16 (the day she got her bail) praying for this miracle," said Khadija.
Seeking the help of the divine might not be unusual considering how many times she had been denied bail.
After being rejected by the lower court over and over again, on February 16, the High Court granted permanent bail to Khadija. But the state then immediately filed two petitions with the SC, challenging the bail order and an SC chamber judge stayed the order.
Khadija then sought justice from the Appellate Division, praying that the chamber judge's stay order be vacated.
But on July 10 her prayer was stood over four months by a full Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique.
The student received bail only after Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan took over the helm of the judiciary.
He had asked the lawyers how long Khadija had been in jail – and was visibly astonished when he heard the answer.
She was arrested on August 27 last year after police pressed charges against her in two cases, filed by Kalabagan and New Market police on October 11 and October 19, 2020.
The student was sued at the age of 17 for hosting a Facebook webinar, where a guest speaker, Delwar Hossain, a retired army officer, made contentious remarks.
Although Khadija was sued as a minor, she had to undergo a full adult trial and incarceration.
Even after getting bail, her release was fraught with difficulties.
The jail authorities received the bail order early Sunday evening.
Her family waited the entire day in front of the gate of Kashimpur Females' Central Jail, before returning home empty-handed.
"When we asked why Khadija was not being released, a policeman came out and told us that they were waiting for clearance from other agencies and law enforcement units because this is a Digital Security Act case," said her sister Munira.
Her lawyer, Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, called it a contempt of court.
Right after she was released, the student went back to her university.
While the law enforcers and the judiciary debated whether or not it would be safe to release her, all Khadija cared about was her education.
"My fourth-semester final exams are going on and I am prepared for them. Today was my statistics exam. I answered three questions out of four," she said.
"I should be able to do better in the next exams as I can study from home now," said Khadija.
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