Law enforcement agencies cracking down on opposition without restraint: Fakhrul

Law enforcement agencies, with backing from the government, have become rampant in suppressing the opposition, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alagmgir said today.

"The government is trampling on the democratic rights of opposition parties and people with [political] opinions. They adopted a brutal repression policy," he said in a statement protesting the arrest of Bhashani Onusari Parishad Joint Convener Abu Yousuf Selim on Sunday (6 August), reports Prothom Alo.

Fakhrul said, "After suppressing democracy, the current authoritarian illegal government has stepped up to carry out reckless oppression on the opposition parties, including the BNP, to plunge the country into the darkness of a one-party rule."

He continued that the unjust arrest of Abu Yusuf Selim from the sit-in programme on 29 July is a continuation of the government's oppression. He is currently very ill in prison but is being denied proper medical treatment, Fakhrul said.

Mirza Fakhrul said, "With democracy nonexistent, the signs of humanity and civilisation in the country are also being erased. The only purpose of maintaining fear and apprehension in the country is to ensure that no one dares to protest against the illegal and arbitrary rule of the Awami League-led government.

"However, despite countless acts of oppression and persecution, the people have started taking to the streets to overthrow the current illegal rulers and end their misrule. The people will win."