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DHAKA — Bangladesh's military-led security forces said Wednesday they have detained more than 10,000 people in a nationwide anti-crime drive over the past week, but political parties accused the government of targeting their members in a political crackdown.
Police Chief Nur Mohammad said the special drive was launched last Friday to improve law and order before national elections planned late this year.
He said more than 1,700 people were detained in the past day, taking the number of detainees to more than 10,000.
The detainees have been accused of crimes such as murder, muggings and violation of emergency rules, Mohammad said.
He denied accusations from political parties that the drive was politically motivated and that many of the detainees are party members.
"We are not targeting political activists. We are after criminals who are disturbing law and order," Mohammad said.
Syed Ashraful Islam, spokesman for the Awami League, a key political party, said the government was "targeting political activists in the name of an anti-crime drive."
"This is not acceptable," he said.
Another major political group, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, also denounced the drive.
"The security forces have arrested thousands of our activists to prevent them from election-related activity," BNP spokesman Khandaker Delwar Hossain said. "They are filing fabricated charges against our activists."
Bangladesh has been run by a military-backed interim government since January 2007, when a state of emergency was declared following the deaths of more than 30 people in street protests demanding electoral reforms.
Since then, the government has arrested about 180 leading politicians, businesspeople and civil servants in an anti-corruption drive. Dozens have already been convicted of graft charges.
Impoverished Bangladesh has been listed as one of the world's most corrupt nations by the German-based corruption watchdog Transparency International.
