Probe recent killings, stop arbitrary arrest of politicians
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said the Bangladesh government should investigate the recent killing of protesters and stop “arbitrary” arrests of members of opposition parties.
The London-based Amnesty International in a report dated January 8 on its website also said the Bangladeshi authorities must free a “prominent journalist” arrested this week as part of an apparent crackdown against the BNP.
“The government of Bangladesh has a duty to launch an immediate, thorough and independent investigation into the deaths [of protesters] and bring those responsible to justice,” Abbas Faiz, Bangladesh researcher at the organisation, said in the report.
“These arrests represent clear violations of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” he added.
Two people were reportedly killed on Wednesday during clashes between police and BNP supporters in Noakhali and at least six people had been killed in protests since Monday, the report mentioned.
In another statement with the same date, Washington-based Human Rights Watch said the Bangladesh government should immediately stop its “excessive force” and lift “restrictions on the media”.
“The government's indiscriminate use of force, arbitrary arrests and censorship will only inflame an already tense situation,” said HRW Asia Director Brad Adams.
“Authorities have an obligation to protect the public, but need to do it in a way that doesn't throw human rights and the rule of law out the window,” he added.
The HRW report claimed that hundreds of opposition activists, including those of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, had been rounded up and arrested across the country in recent days.
“The government crackdown has come in response to opposition protests on the anniversary of controversial national polls in January 2014, which the BNP boycotted and from which Jamaat was excluded.”
According to the rights organisation, Khaleda Zia, the leader of the BNP, has been “effectively detained” on her office premises in Dhaka since January 3, 2015.
Although the government claims she is not under arrest, a heavy security presence is in place, the gates are locked, and she has been denied exit, said the report.
“Information Minister Hasanul Huq announced that the government was preparing murder charges against Zia [Khaleda] for an arson attack. A corruption trial against Zia [Khaleda] began this week which she has been unable to attend due to the security cordon around her.”
The report also said BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was arrested on January 6 from near the Jatiya Press Club for allegedly organising a protest the previous day that led to the death of four people and dozens of injuries.
It alleged that the authorities also targeted media perceived to be sympathetic to the opposition.
Abdus Salam, chairman of Ekushey TV (ETV), was arrested and detained on January 7, allegedly on charges of broadcasting pornography.
His arrest came a day after ETV's broadcast of an anti-government speech by Tarique Rahman, a senior member of the BNP.
“The arrest of the owner and closure of a TV station is not acceptable from a government that claims to be democratic,” said Adams.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury yesterday lambasted the two rights organisations over the reports.
“They talk in favour of the killers but they are not concerned about those who are killed. This is an old habit of theirs. The government is doing what is necessary as per the law and will continue to do so,” she said, reports BBC Bangla.
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