kalu_miah
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This arrest is related to the 6th May, 2013 massacre of unarmed protesters from Hefajat-e-Islam:
Bangladesh Revolution News and Updates | Page 74 | Pakistan Defence
BANGLADESH: A massacre of demonstrators — Asian Human Rights Commission
Dhaka indicts top rights activists over crackdown
Published — Thursday 9 January 2014
Last update 9 January 2014 12:42 am
DHAKA: A Bangladesh court charged top human rights activists on Wednesday for publishing details of a police crackdown on protesters last year that said dozens of people were killed.
A prosecutor said the heads of Dhaka-based rights group Odhikar were charged with publishing “false” reports online that stated 61 people were killed during the violent May street protests to demand a blasphemy law.
“They were indicted for spreading false information, which tarnished the image of the government among the Muslims and also undermined the law-enforcing agencies,” prosecutor Nazrul Islam Shamim said.
“...Odhikar claimed 61 people were killed. But the government says only 11 people have died,” Shamim told AFP.
The charges come just days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won general elections that were boycotted by the opposition and were the scene of unprecedented bloodshed on polling day.
Hasina has remained defiant since Sunday’s elections, insisting her walkover win was legitimate and vowing to crack down on the opposition blamed for much of the violence.
On Tuesday, three main opposition leaders were arrested including a vice-president of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party over a bomb blast during one of a string of recent strikes against the elections.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in central Dhaka for the May protest organized by radical group Hefajat-e-Islam to demand a strict blasphemy law that includes the death penalty.
Bangladesh Revolution News and Updates | Page 74 | Pakistan Defence
BANGLADESH: A massacre of demonstrators — Asian Human Rights Commission
Dhaka indicts top rights activists over crackdown
-
Bangladeshi Attorney General Mahbubey Alam (2L) appears at the court in Dhaka, in this Dec. 11, 2013 file photo. (AFP)
Published — Thursday 9 January 2014
Last update 9 January 2014 12:42 am
DHAKA: A Bangladesh court charged top human rights activists on Wednesday for publishing details of a police crackdown on protesters last year that said dozens of people were killed.
A prosecutor said the heads of Dhaka-based rights group Odhikar were charged with publishing “false” reports online that stated 61 people were killed during the violent May street protests to demand a blasphemy law.
“They were indicted for spreading false information, which tarnished the image of the government among the Muslims and also undermined the law-enforcing agencies,” prosecutor Nazrul Islam Shamim said.
“...Odhikar claimed 61 people were killed. But the government says only 11 people have died,” Shamim told AFP.
The charges come just days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won general elections that were boycotted by the opposition and were the scene of unprecedented bloodshed on polling day.
Hasina has remained defiant since Sunday’s elections, insisting her walkover win was legitimate and vowing to crack down on the opposition blamed for much of the violence.
On Tuesday, three main opposition leaders were arrested including a vice-president of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party over a bomb blast during one of a string of recent strikes against the elections.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in central Dhaka for the May protest organized by radical group Hefajat-e-Islam to demand a strict blasphemy law that includes the death penalty.
