Protests hit Bangladesh after war crimes verdict
7 Feb 2013 5:47 AM IST
Police and protesters clashed for the second day on Wednesday, after the conviction of a powerful politician in connection with a series of killings during the country’s 1971 independence war. More than two dozen small, homemade bombs also exploded in the country’s north, but there were no reports of injuries.
Local news reports said at least 10 people had been injured on Wednesday in clashes outside Dhaka, a day after the latest verdict was announced in a series of controversial war crimes trials. Street battles across the country on Tuesday killed up to four people and injured dozens more.
The clashes came after Bangladesh’s largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, ordered a nationwide general strike, shutting down schools and shops, to protest the conviction and sentence of life in prison handed down to their leader, Abdul Quader Mollah.
Opposition politicians and human rights organizations have questioned the fairness of the trials into the 40-year-old violence.
Because of the strike, traffic was thin Wednesday on the usually-clogged streets of Dhaka and schools and most businesses were closed in major cities and towns across the country.
Despite tight security in Dhaka, with security forces patrolling the streets, television footage showed protesters throwing stones at police Wednesday in Dhaka. A local news agency, bdnews24.com, reported that police fired rubber bullets and teargas to disperse protesters.
Local news reports said at least 10 people had been injured on Wednesday in clashes outside Dhaka, a day after the latest verdict was announced in a series of controversial war crimes trials. Street battles across the country on Tuesday killed up to four people and injured dozens more.
The clashes came after Bangladesh’s largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, ordered a nationwide general strike, shutting down schools and shops, to protest the conviction and sentence of life in prison handed down to their leader, Abdul Quader Mollah.
Opposition politicians and human rights organizations have questioned the fairness of the trials into the 40-year-old violence.
Because of the strike, traffic was thin Wednesday on the usually-clogged streets of Dhaka and schools and most businesses were closed in major cities and towns across the country.
Despite tight security in Dhaka, with security forces patrolling the streets, television footage showed protesters throwing stones at police Wednesday in Dhaka. A local news agency, bdnews24.com, reported that police fired rubber bullets and teargas to disperse protesters.
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