TORONTO — The family of a University of Toronto student who survived a hostage-taking in Bangladesh says the young man is being held by authorities in the country's capital.
They are calling for the immediate release of Tahmid Hasib Khan, saying police have not explained why they are detaining the 22-year-old who is a permanent resident of Canada.
Khan's family says he had travelled to Dhaka to visit family and was meeting friends at a local restaurant when he got caught up in the 10-hour hostage crisis on the evening of July 1.
Two police officers and 20 hostages — nine Italians, seven Japanese, an Indian and three students at American universities — were killed in the siege at the upscale restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic zone.
A police officer has said authorities have held five former hostages for questioning but have since released three of them.
Khan's family says he has been studying global health at the University of Toronto and was set to begin an internship with UNICEF in Nepal this summer.
