US rights group terms crackdown in Bangladesh politically motivated
Saturday, 7 June 2008
The US-based rights group Human Rights Watch has called for the interim government to end its allegedly arbitrary mass arrests under emergency rule, reports bdnews24.com.
In a statement, datelined Thursday from New York, the group said the thousands detained in Bangladesh should be either charged on the basis of credible evidence of criminal activities or immediately released.
The call came amid the government's insistence that the crackdown has no political motivation and that the drive is aimed at eliminating criminal elements to create an environment conducive to national polls.
The rights group said it believes the arrests followed the breakdown of prospects for negotiations between the caretaker government and the two main political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), over national elections planned for December.
Many of those arrested are local-level party leaders and activists, it said.
The group also expressed concern about the health and safety of the detainees, given severe overcrowding in prisons and reported patterns of torture and mistreatment of detainees.
"The timing and targets of the arrests are a dead giveaway; they are politically motivated," said Asia Director of Human Rights Watch Brad Adams.
"It's obvious that they are paying the price for the political parties' refusal to accept the government's conditions to participate in the elections," he said.
"Emergency rule is once again being used to carry out arbitrary arrests and to harass political opponents," he added.
Authorities have arrested at least 12,000 persons since May 28, the group said.
In a statement, datelined Thursday from New York, the group said the thousands detained in Bangladesh should be either charged on the basis of credible evidence of criminal activities or immediately released.
The call came amid the government's insistence that the crackdown has no political motivation and that the drive is aimed at eliminating criminal elements to create an environment conducive to national polls.
The rights group said it believes the arrests followed the breakdown of prospects for negotiations between the caretaker government and the two main political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), over national elections planned for December.
Many of those arrested are local-level party leaders and activists, it said.
The group also expressed concern about the health and safety of the detainees, given severe overcrowding in prisons and reported patterns of torture and mistreatment of detainees.
"The timing and targets of the arrests are a dead giveaway; they are politically motivated," said Asia Director of Human Rights Watch Brad Adams.
"It's obvious that they are paying the price for the political parties' refusal to accept the government's conditions to participate in the elections," he said.
"Emergency rule is once again being used to carry out arbitrary arrests and to harass political opponents," he added.
Authorities have arrested at least 12,000 persons since May 28, the group said.