More than 90 die in two weeks in Bangladesh drug war, sparking fears of Philippines-style extrajudicial killings
Families of several people killed have said they were arrested by police and died in custody
A crackdown on alleged drug dealers has left at least 91 people dead in less than two weeks in Bangladesh, sparking fears of a Philippines-style drug war marked by extrajudicial killings.
Most of the deaths have occurred in what the Bangladeshi news media have referred to as shoot-outs or gunfights, although the families of several people killed have said they were arrested by police and died in custody.
Since the operation began May 15, the death toll has risen every day, the names and whereabouts of those killed filling newspaper columns but with few details of the evidence against them. Odhikar, a human rights advocacy group, said Sunday that it had counted 91 people killed in 13 days.
Many of the dead appear from news accounts to have been small-time addicts and peddlers killed in cities and far corners of the country, sometimes accused of carrying small stashes of drugs and light weapons.
One was 35-year-old Kamrul Islam, described by his wife as a former drug seller who left the trade 10 years ago and was earning a meagre living running a food stall at a bus station in Dhaka.