Human Rights Watch slams Bangladesh government for attacks on students, journalists protesting for safer roads

Dhaka: A global human rights group has accused authorities in Bangladesh of using abusive measures in handling a student-led protest calling for safer roads. [caption id=“attachment_4896711” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Bangladeshi students march along a street during a student protest in Dhaka. AFP[/caption] New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Tuesday that ruling party men armed with sticks and machetes have swooped in on protesters and journalists since the students took to the streets on 29 July after two students were killed in a road accident in Dhaka. Several journalists, including an Associated Press photographer, were attacked. Human Rights Watch also criticized the arrest of a renowned photographer on charges of spreading false information about the protest. The protests grew in July, becoming a major embarrassment to the government, which faces a general election later in 2018.