Dhaka, Oct. 6 -- The mass arrests of attendees at a small left-wing party's meeting in Dhaka on September 26 is the latest incident in the Bangladesh authorities' ongoing assault on civil and political rights, Human Rights Watch (HRW), a US-based human rights organisation, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Police took around 290 supporters of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal into custody after members of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party's youth wing, Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, claimed the gathering was a "secret" meeting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, which is banned. A court remanded 27 of those arrested to custody because it was alleged they had chanted "Joy Bangla" (Victory to Bengal), a slogan associated with the ...