BANGLADESH POLICE have detained about 300 members of the country`s biggest religious party after violent clashes across the country.
Two Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, including the acting chief, were among those detained for inciting the violence on Monday (September 19) in which more than 150 people were injured.
Jamaat called for street marches on Monday to demand the release of the party`s top leaders who have been held in prison for months, awaiting trial for alleged crimes committed during Bangladesh`s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
The party denies the charges and has vowed to free its leaders and supports a campaign by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP), led by former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, to oust the government.
Security forces also detained the editor of a pro-Jamaat newspaper, Daink Sangram, Abul Asad, leading to protests by some journalists who called for his release.
The BNP has called for a countrywide general strike on Thursday (September 22) to protest against police actions and oppose recent fuel oil price hikes. Jamaat and several smaller parties also support the proposed strike.
