Amnesty for respecting right to peaceful protest

The Bangladeshi authorities must respect the right to freedom of assembly and protect peaceful protestors, said Amnesty International, after police opened fire on protestors at  rallies in Chattogramand Brahmanbaria on Friday, killing at least five people and injuring dozens of others, according to local media sources.

On a day of nationwide protests against the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at least 60 people were injured at a separate protest in Dhaka according to local media, many with gunshot wounds. The crackdowns are the latest in a series of violent responses to protests in Bangladesh in recent weeks.

“The scenes of violence we witnessed in Chattogram and Dhaka follow a worryingly familiar pattern of behaviour by the Bangladeshi authorities. The right to peaceful protest has come under concerted attack, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic, culminating in this type of bloody repression,” said Sultan Mohammed Zakaria, Amnesty International’s South Asia Researcher.

“Bangladesh’s commitments under international law and its own constitution enshrine the right to peaceful assembly. The authorities must respect these commitments, protect peaceful protestors and halt the use of unlawful and excessive force.”