Amnesty International has expressed concern over the detention of Meghna Alam by police in plainclothes in Dhaka.

"Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the use of the Special Powers Act for the arrest of model Meghna Alam. The draconian legislation, with vague, overbroad provisions, has historically been used to arbitrarily detain people for long periods of time, without charge, and without judicial oversight," Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office said in a post on X.

These constitute gross violations of due process safeguards and international human rights standards, it said.

The statement added that as per media reports, Meghna's detention was shrouded in secrecy, and was allegedly carried out without a warrant, which are considered to be an alarming violation of procedural safeguards.

"We call on the authorities to either charge Meghna with an internationally recognisable crime or release her. They must also end the use of and repeal the Special Powers Act," it said.

Around 5:00pm on Wednesday, Meghna was detained from her residence in Dhaka's Bashundhara area while she was live on Facebook.
Yesterday, she was sent to jail under a 30-day detention order issued under the Special Powers Act. The order was passed by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka around 10:00pm following a police petition.