Police clash with students as protests sparked by accidents continue after arrest of activist

POLICE FIRED tear gas and rubber bullets at students in Bangladesh demanding the release of an activist arrested for criticising the government.

Shahidul Alam, a well-known photographer and activist, was arrested on Sunday after a television interview in which he said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had no credibility and was using “brute force” to cling to power.

A court in Dhaka ordered him to be confined for seven days for questioning on charges of spreading false information and propaganda against the government.

Protests, set off by the deaths of two students killed by speeding buses, grew to tens of thousands of people last week, becoming a major embarrassment to Ms Hasina’s government, which faces a general election later this year.

The traffic chaos of the past week began easing yesterday, as immense demonstrations gave way to sporadic protests, though hundreds of students clashed with police in Dhaka’s Bashundhara area where some private universities are located.

Police fired rubber bullets and protesters said at least 40 people, mostly students, were injured.

Elsewhere, police used tear gas against protesters at Dhaka’s East West University and students marched through the Dhaka University campus chanting anti-government slogans and demanding justice.

On Sunday, pro-government youth groups retaliated by attacking protesters and at least five journalists.

Amnesty International called for Mr Alam’s immediate release, with deputy South Asia director Omar Waraich saying that his arrest “marks a dangerous escalation of a crackdown by the government”.

Authorities have warned of tougher measures if the protests continue to create chaos.