Govt must uphold people’s right to protest, drop charges against students: Forum Asia

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development has condemned the judicial harassment and excessive use of force committed by Bangladeshi authorities against peaceful protestors–demanding justice for survivors of gender-based violence–in a rally staged in Dhaka on March, 11.

The deliberate targeting of student human rights defenders -- including women human rights defenders -- illustrates Bangladesh's persistent criminalisation of dissent, further shrinking an already-repressed civic space, said a press release.

Such actions reflect the interim government's troubling continuation of repressive tactics characteristic of former regimes.

"Forum-Asia demands Bangladeshi authorities to immediately drop all charges against the student human rights defenders and unnamed protestors, prioritising their safety and protection from further harassment. Instead of violently cracking down on dissent, Bangladesh must uphold people's freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association," said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, executive director of Forum-Asia.