SIO demands Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad's release, says free thought is not a crime

The Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) has strongly condemned the arrest of Prof. Ali Khan Mahmudabad, describing it as a targeted move to suppress academic freedom and democratic dissent.

The organisation stated that Prof. Mahmudabad, a respected academic and public intellectual, had merely expressed a principled critique rooted in democratic values, and that his social media post was misrepresented to suit a political agenda.

According to SIO, the arrested professor’s statement was neither anti-women nor anti-national, as it acknowledged the bravery of the armed forces while simultaneously demanding equal justice for victims of hate and state violence.

SIO maintained that his remarks were a call for moral consistency in the face of injustice, and that the deliberate distortion of his words into misogynistic propaganda amounted to a gross misuse of state power intended to silence critical voices.

The organisation warned that the arrest was not an isolated event but part of a broader pattern of intolerance toward academic inquiry and intellectual expression. It added that by targeting a university professor for a social media comment, the authorities had revealed a deep-seated insecurity and growing hostility toward dissent and reasoned debate.

SIO argued that the state’s action reflects a troubling trend in which the classroom is being turned into a courtroom and free thought is being treated as a criminal act.

Reaffirming its commitment to democratic principles, the organisation declared its full solidarity with Prof. Mahmudabad and demanded his immediate release along with the withdrawal of all charges levelled against him.