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."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Sodium batteries could make electric flight viableUnder the Radar Low-cost fuel cell has higher energy density and produces chemical by-product that could absorb CO2 from the atmosphere
-
Flying into dangerFeature America's air traffic control system is in crisis. Can it be fixed?
-
Pocket change: The demise of the pennyFeature The penny is being phased out as the Treasury plans to halt production by 2026
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulderspeed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC paradespeed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museumspeed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attackSpeed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
-
Kenya arrests alleged ant smugglersspeed read Two young Belgians have been charged for attempting to smuggle ants out of the country to exotic pet buyers
-
Judge ends Eric Adams case, Trump leverageSpeed Read Federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams were dismissed, as requested by Trump's Justice Department
-
Texas arrests midwife on felony abortion chargesSpeed Read Maria Margarita Rojas and an employee at one of her clinics are the first to be criminally charged under Texas' near-total abortion ban
