Amnesty International condemns attacks on quota reform protesters

Global human rights watchdog Amnesty International has strongly condemned the attacks on quota reform protesters in Dhaka University and other campuses across the country.

“Amnesty International has strongly condemned the attacks against quota reform protestors in Dhaka University and other campuses across the country, which has reportedly injured hundreds of students,” the organisation said this in a statement issued on Amnesty International South Asia’s Facebook page on Monday midnight.

“We urgently call on the Government of Bangladesh to immediately guarantee the safety of all peaceful protestors and proper treatment of all those injured,” said the statement.

The description of the violence against protestors is consistent with the kind of violence Amnesty has documented in the past, whereby individuals in civilian clothing, brandishing weapons like hammers, sticks, and clubs interrupted protests and beat up protestors, it said.

Bangladesh must uphold its obligations under international law and its own constitution to fully respect the people’s rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and protect peaceful protestors from further harm, the statement added.