DHAKA-Bangladesh has launched a sweeping and violent crackdown on opposition parties to “eliminate competition” ahead of general elections, including arresting almost 10,000 activists, Human Rights Watch said Monday. As well as the thousands arrested, many from the key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), a staggering number also face charges.
According to the BNP, about half of its five million members “face politically motivated prosecution”, HRW said. “The arrests, they are not leaving anyone behind, from senior level to the ground level,” one activist told HRW.
Prisons are now at more than double their capacity,