Wholesale arrests

The New York-based Human Rights Watch has criticized Bangladesh's military-backed interim government for alleged wholesale arrests of political activists, reports agency.

The government should immediately end the recent wave of mass arrests of thousands of people, and those now detained should be either charged or immediately released, the group said in a statement Thursday.

It said the arrests follow the breakdown of prospects for negotiations between the government and the two main political parties, the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, over national elections in December.

Many of those arrested are local-level political party leaders and activists, Human Rights Watch said.

The group expressed concern about the health and safety of the detainees, given massive prison overcrowding and well-documented patterns of torture and mistreatment of detainees.

''The timing and targets of the arrests are a dead giveaway they are politically motivated,'' said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

''It's obvious that they are paying the price for the political parties' refusal to accept the government's conditions to participate in the elections,'' Adams said.

Officials could not be reached for comment Friday since the day is part of the weekend in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

But Bangladesh's police boss Nur Mohammad said earlier this week that the special drive was meant to improve law and order before national elections.

The detainees have been accused of crimes such as murder, muggings and violation of emergency rules, Mohammad said.

He denied accusations from major political parties that the drive is politically motivated and that many of the detainees are party members.

The interim government came to power in January last year after President Iajuddin Ahmed declared a state of emergency after weeks of violent street protests over electoral reforms. More than 30 people died and scores were injured in the protests.

The government has begun a massive crackdown on corruption and arrested dozens of businessmen, bureaucrats and senior politicians, including Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, both former prime ministers.

Hasina and Zia are now behind bars, pending trial on graft charges. They and their parties have denied the charges and said their prosecutions are aimed at preventing them from contesting next polls. Convicted criminals are barred from holding public office under Bangladeshi law.

The government pledges elections by the third week of December.

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