ASIA/BANGLADESH - Christian village attacked by the police: an investigation is urgently needed

Friday, 7 April 2017 religious minorities   religious freedom   violence   justice  

Dhaka (Agenzia Fides) - The Bangladeshi police have carried out gratuitous violence on a Christian village: with this conviction several NGOs call for an independent investigation after the assault of police officers on 24 March, in which 25 people were wounded.
As Fides learns, the incident occurred in the village of Doripara, near Dhaka. On March 24, four police officers in plainclothes broke into the home of a Christian woman, Mina Dores. The police officers did not show their identity cards or a mandate and took about 5,000 taka (about 50 euro) from her home. Family members asked the men to show their ID cards, but they refused and locked the family in one room.
Neighbors rushed to help the family and began to beat officers in plainclothes, until another 30 policemen arrived and started to beat the villagers. Several houses were damaged and about 25 people were injured, five of them are in critical condition. The villagers, fearing for their safety, were reluctant to filing a complaint, but it was the police who filed a complaint against the Christian community.
The Christian Association of Bangladesh calls for an immediate investigation and justice for the victims.
In the past, the police were accused of arbitrary arrest and extorting money from Christians in the district of Gazipur. Christians and other religious minorities continue to face discrimination in society. According to the Ong Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Christians are victims of land grabbing and violent attacks. Many of them feel targeted by the police and have lost trust in the police. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 07/04/2017)


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