Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina shrugs off protests over writer’s death in jail
- Mushtaq Ahmed collapsed and died at Kashimpur High Security Prison on Thursday. He was charged with spreading rumours and conducting ‘anti-state activities’
- Protesters have said Ahmed’s death was a ‘custodial murder’ after he was denied bail six times in 10 months.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday shrugged off criticism of her government’s rights record as hundreds marched in a second day of protests over the death of a prominent writer in prison.
Demonstrators marched at Dhaka University chanting slogans condemning the government’s treatment of Mushtaq Ahmed as well as other writers, journalists and activists.
Another protest was staged at the National Press Club, while dozens of people carried a symbolic coffin around Dhaka University demanding the scrapping of the Digital Security Act (DSA) under which Ahmed was detained last May.
The wide-ranging DSA has been used to crack down on dissent since it was enacted in 2018.
The protests followed clashes between police and security forces in the capital on Friday night. Police said six people were arrested while activists said at least 30 were injured. More protests against the death and arrests were planned Sunday.