A Bangladeshi teenager who police say was a suspect in last week’s deadly attack on a Dhaka cafe has died in custody, with his family insisting he was a hostage and alleging torture by security forces.
Zakir Hossain Shawon, 18, a kitchen assistant at the Holey Artisan Bakery, was arrested after last week’s deadly siege by suspected Islamists in which 22 people, including 18 foreigners, died.
His whole body had marks of torture. It seems he was hanged by ropes tied to his wrists
Police killed five attackers and arrested Shawon together with another man over “suspicious activities”, treating him as a suspect – a claim vehemently rejected by his family, who claim he was taken hostage like other victims.
He died in the intensive care unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital late on Friday after five days in the clinic, police and his family said.
Shawon’s father Abdus Sattar demanded an investigation into his death, saying his “innocent son and the main breadwinner of his family” died due to torture.
“His whole body had marks of torture. There were marks of curdled blood in many places. One of his eyes and two knees were blackened. His wrists were blackened. It seems he was hanged by ropes tied to his wrists,” Sattar said.
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