Bangladesh government urged to respect human rights

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh's military-backed government was on Saturday urged to uphold human rights after it imposed a curfew and made dozens of arrests to quell three days of rioting.

Leading rights lawyer Sultana Kamal said although unlawful behavior by protesters was unjustified, she appealed to the government to protect human rights in cracking down on the rioters.

"I am concerned over the arrest of the five teachers," said Kamal, director of the country's foremost human rights group, the Law and Mediation Centre.

"I hope the government will deal with the matter with utmost transparency," she said.

Five university professors have been detained by security forces for their alleged involvement in the protests that spiralled out of control on Wednesday, prompting the government to announce the curfew.

The academics were arrested in raids in Dhaka and northwestern Rajshahi, where one bystander was killed and dozens injured in a clash on Wednesday.

Police also filed cases against between 30,000 and 50,000 unnamed people for breaking the curfew and taking part in the protests, reports said Saturday.

The charges are standard police practice in Bangladesh.