11 Oct 2017 | 12:42 PM UTC
Bangladesh: Islamist party leaders arrested for plotting attack Oct. 9
Leaders of Islamist opposition party Jamaat-e-Islami arrested for plotting and carrying out attacks in Dhaka on October 9
Event
Several leaders of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, were arrested in Dhaka on Monday, October 9, amid a crackdown on the opposition. The eight leaders were arrested for “plotting and carrying out destructive activities,” and inciting violence. The group has denied the allegations and called on their supporters to take to the streets of Dhaka on Tuesday, October 10, to denounce the arrests.
Context
The number of terrorist attacks has been gradually increasing in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh, a country of 160 million people. Some terrorist groups, including Jamaat ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS). JMB has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Bangladesh, including a July 2016 attack on a café in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter in which 22 people were killed. Furthermore, over the past few years, several prominent liberal writers and members of religious minorities have been assassinated.
The government is taking steps to address the terrorist threat, although Bangladesh's criminal justice system is still in the process of fully implementing the Antiterrorism Act of 2009 (ATA). A Counterterrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTCU) was formed as a part of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and began operations in February 2016. Additionally, the Bangladeshi Ministry of Religious Affairs and the National Committee on Militancy, Resistance, and Prevention, work with imams and religious scholars to build public awareness against terrorism and to counter violent extremism.
Advice
Due to the high risk of terrorism in Bangladesh, travelers are advised to exercise vigilance when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.) and report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities.
