Kabir Humayun: New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused authorities in Bangladesh of using abusive measures in handling a student-led protest calling for safer roads.
In a statement, the rights group yesterday said that the ruling party men armed with sticks and machetes have swooped in on protesters and journalists since the students took to the streets on July 29 after two students were killed in a road accident in Dhaka, reports Daily Sun. Human Rights Watch also criticized the arrest of a renowned photographer on charges of spreading false information about the protest.
Several journalists, including an Associated Press photographer, were attacked by police and miscreants on Monday.
The protests grew last week, becoming a major embarrassment to the government, which faces a general election later this year.