Bangladeshi model and actress Meghna Alam has been arrested under the country’s controversial Special Powers Act, sparking widespread public outrage and raising concerns about misuse of authority and diplomatic pressure. Local media reports say she was detained for allegedly "attempting to harm Bangladesh’s diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia," though no formal charges were initially filed at the time of her arrest.
Alam’s arrest by the Detective Branch (DB) of the Bangladesh Police took place late last Wednesday night, in the middle of a Facebook livestream, where she was seen claiming her innocence and pleading with viewers to witness the events unfolding at her home. The highly publicized nature of the arrest drew sharp criticism from civil society, journalists, and social media users, with many accusing law enforcement of abducting the actress without due process.
According to Prothom Alo, a prominent Bangladeshi daily, the police initially detained her without any official case registered, which further fueled allegations of arbitrary detention. Under intense scrutiny, the DB later denied these allegations, stating that reports of her abduction were inaccurate, though public trust remained shaken.
The arrest has had immediate political fallout. The Detective Branch official who led the operation was removed from his post, indicating internal acknowledgement of procedural lapses. Adding to the controversy, Asif Nazrul, legal advisor to Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, admitted in a press conference that invoking the Special Powers Act against Meghna Alam was a mistake.
She was presented before a Dhaka court the next day, which ordered her to be remanded for 30 days in jail, deepening concerns about the legal basis of the case.
The background to this arrest appears to be a personal dispute that escalated to an international incident. According to The Daily Star, Alam had posted — in now-deleted Facebook updates — that she was in a romantic relationship with a foreign diplomat, later identified as the then Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh.
Her father, Badrul Alam, confirmed to Daily Star that his daughter had indeed been engaged to the ambassador but rejected his marriage proposal upon discovering that he was already married with children. In what appears to have been an emotionally charged move, Meghna reportedly called the diplomat’s wife to inform her of the relationship.
Following this confrontation, Badrul Alam alleged that the diplomat used his influence to reach out to Bangladesh’s Home Ministry, which then directed the police to take action against Meghna. These claims, if true, suggest the involvement of high-level diplomatic and bureaucratic pressure in the arrest.
The use of the Special Powers Act, a law often criticized for enabling preventive detention without trial, has once again come under fire, especially in a case involving a civilian and personal affair. Human rights organizations and legal experts are now demanding a thorough investigation and calling for Meghna Alam’s immediate release, pointing out the dangers of conflating private disputes with national security issues.
This case has not only shaken public trust in the system but also raised fresh questions about diplomatic privilege, gendered power dynamics, and the rights of citizens in the face of political pressure.
