Dhaka: Bangladesh’s leading opposition figure has been detained, as tensions mount between the country’s governing party and opposition forces ahead of general elections due in January.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was picked up by law enforcement on Sunday, a day after mass anti-government protests rocked the capital, Dhaka.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Habibur Rahman said Alamgir had been detained for questioning over violence that broke out during Saturday’s protests, which killed one police officer and one protester, and injured many on both sides.
“Police came and seized all the CCTV camera devices from our building,” Alamgir’s wife Rahat Ara Begum was quoted as saying. “They said they had orders to arrest my husband. I hope they return him soon.”
Alamgir’s detention intensifies a crackdown on Bangladesh’s opposition in the lead-up to next year’s vote, which will decide the country’s next premier. Hundreds of opposition activists have been arrested and the BNP’s longtime leader, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is under de facto house arrest.
Opposition figures have called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign, arguing she cannot be trusted to hold free and fair elections after being in office for more than 15 years.