A court in Chattogram, Bangladesh, has denied bail to Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, who was arrested in Dhaka on November 25 in a sedition case. The Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Md Saiful Islam, rejected the bail request on Thursday, January 2, after a 30-minute hearing, as reported by The Daily Star.

A team of 11 lawyers from the Supreme Court, led by advocate Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee, represented Chinmoy. Bhattacharjee also serves as the spokesperson for the Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, an organization with which Chinmoy is affiliated.

The hearing took place under heavy security measures due to previous threats. Last month, no lawyer had been willing to represent Chinmoy in the Chattogram court after receiving warnings of physical assault from Islamist groups.

The monk remains in custody as legal proceedings continue.