A sense of profound tragedy hangs over the village of Sabekdanga following the High Court’s decision to grant bail to Jewel Hassan (alias Saddam), the former president of the Bagerhat Sadar Upazila Chhatra League. While the legal victory marks the end of his ten-month incarceration, it has been met with bitterness by a family that claims the “system” failed them when it mattered most. Saddam is set to return to a home that has been transformed into a place of mourning.
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A Bitter Victory in the High Court
On Monday, 26 January 2026, a High Court bench consisting of Justice JB M Hassan and Justice Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan granted Saddam six months of interim bail in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Saddam, who has been held in Jashore Central Jail since April 2025, had already secured bail in six other pending cases. This latest ruling finally clears the legal path for his physical release.
The court’s decision follows a wave of national indignation after footage circulated online showing Saddam handcuffed at the prison gates, catching a fleeting, final glimpse of his wife and infant son’s coffins.
Timeline of a Tragedy
| Date | Incident | Status |
| 5 April 2025 | Saddam arrested in Gopalganj. | Detained |
| 23 Jan 2026 | Discovery of wife (22) and son (9 months) deceased. | Tragic Loss |
| 24 Jan 2026 | Parole request for funeral denied by authorities. | Humanitarian Crisis |
| 24 Jan 2026 | Last rites conducted at Jashore prison gates. | Public Outcry |
| 26 Jan 2026 | High Court grants 6-month interim bail. | Released |
“A Release to an Empty House”
For Saddam’s mother, Delowara Ekram, the judicial relief feels like a cruel irony. Speaking to journalists at her home, she questioned the timing of the court’s mercy. “What is the use of this bail now?” she asked. “We begged for him to be released while my daughter-in-law and grandson were still breathing. Now he will come home only to see their graves. This freedom means nothing.”
The deaths of Kaniz Suborna Swarnali (22) and their nine-month-old son, Sejad Hassan Najif, were discovered last Friday. Despite desperate attempts by Saddam’s uncle, Hemayet Uddin, to secure a humanitarian parole release for the funeral, the Bagerhat district administration and jail authorities remained unmoved, leading to the widely criticised “prison-gate farewell.”
The Call for Humanitarian Justice
The refusal to grant parole has drawn sharp criticism from political figures and human rights observers. Saddam’s father-in-law, National Party leader Ruhul Amin Howlader, described the state’s rigidness as “inhumane.” He noted that the family had exhausted every administrative avenue to allow Saddam to lead the funeral prayers for his only child, but were met with “bureaucratic coldness.”
While Saddam is expected to walk out of Jashore Central Jail within the next few days, his brother-in-law, Shahnewaz Amin, characterised the bail as a “theatrical conclusion” to a preventable tragedy. As the community prepares for his return, the focus has shifted from his legal status to the devastating personal cost of his prolonged detention.