One Dead as Bangladesh Police Clash with Protesters
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – One man died as police and supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party clashed Wednesday in the capital during a strike called by the group.
The violence erupted in Dhaka as security forces sought to break up dozens of supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami, police said.
Jamaat ordered the two-day protest strike after Bangladesh's high court ruled earlier this month the party's election registration was illegal because its charter breached the secular constitution.
The ruling left the party unable to contest next year's general elections.
Local media, quoting witnesses, said the 20-year-old man killed was a Jamaat activist who was shot in the head on Wednesday, the final day of the two-day strike.
But police said the man died after being hit by a car as he was chased by security forces during the clash.
"They attacked us with stones and threw crude bombs at us. We dispersed them by firing rubber bullets," Rafiqul Islam, police chief in Jatrabari in Dhaka, told AFP.
Hospital officials said they could not comment on the cause of death before an autopsy report.
On Tuesday, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse thousands of Jamaat supporters who staged protests west of Dhaka.
