Bangladesh: protests after the death in prison of a critical government writer
The police charged the demonstrators with batons and used tear gas against students demanding “justice” in Dhaka on Friday February 26, 2021. AP - Mahmud Hossain Opu
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Clashes between police in Dhaka on Friday against hundreds of students gathered for a protest after the death in prison the day before of a writer arrested for criticizing the government on social networks.
At least ten people were slightly injured, according to a witness.
Mushtaq Ahmed, 53, was jailed last May after criticizing on social media how the government was handling the coronavirus pandemic.
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Mushtaq Ahmed had been in prison for nine months with four other people awaiting trial.
Nine months during which the writer had requested his parole six times, without success.
His crime?
Having dared to criticize the government's handling of the pandemic on Facebook.
An act frowned upon by the authorities who accused the writer of spreading rumors and carrying out anti-state activities.
A formula frequently used to muzzle any dissenting voice.
Arrests of human rights defenders, journalists and internet users have increased in Bangladesh since the adoption in 2018 of the
digital security law
by the government of Sheikh Hasina.
About 2,000 people have been charged under this law.
Mushtaq Ahmed's death in prison aroused much emotion and anger.
Several
human rights groups
have called for an independent and transparent investigation to understand the circumstances and causes of his death.
The opposition party BNP, meanwhile, hypothesized a death under torture, adding that many people have been victims of summary executions and enforced disappearances in the past.
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