Bangladesh arrested 11,600 people less than a week after announcing a new initiative against Islamic extremism within its borders. But only 2 percent of those detained — just 177 people — are actually accused of dangerous radicalism, and none are considered high-ranking terrorist operatives.
This discrepancy has led to accusations that the South Asian nation may be using the risk of extremism as an excuse for squashing legitimate political opposition to the ruling party. Bangladesh "should immediately stop arbitrarily arresting people without proper evidence of crime," Human Rights Watch said in a statement released Friday, noting that some reports suggest "some of those detained are being made to pay bribes to secure their release."
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