An 87-year-old former minister was among 16 people ordered by a Bangladesh court Friday to be detained in custody on charges of plotting against the government, police said.

The South Asian nation has been in turmoil since a mass uprising toppled Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic government in 2024, with political parties vying for power ahead of elections scheduled for February.

The 16 were arrested on Thursday after attending a meeting at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), a journalists’ association, where they accused political parties of conspiring to undermine the constitution.

Witnesses said a mob stormed the venue, heckled the participants, and later handed them over to the police.

“They were arrested under the anti-terrorism act,” said Khalid Mansur, officer-in-charge of Dhaka’s central police station.

Among those held was Abdul Latif Siddiqui, a former minister under Hasina. Police told the court that the accused were “hatching conspiracies and inciting unrest to destabilise the country and topple the government”.

Hafizur Rahman Karzon, a law professor at the University of Dhaka, was also among those detained.

In court on Friday — where the group was taken in handcuffs, helmets, and bulletproof vests — he said that they were victims, not offenders. Another of the detained, journalist Manjurul Alam, raised his arms and said: “These hands have written against corruption for years”.

Abu Saleh Akan and Mainul Hasan Sohel, the president and secretary of DRU, said that “freedom of expression is a fundamental right of every citizen”.