Pro-oppo editor assaulted in BD

DHAKA: A prominent former editor and critic of Bangladesh’s government was assaulted on Sunday by ruling party student activists after a court hearing, police and witnesses said.

The cadres of the Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, attacked Mahmudur Rahman, 66, with bricks and bamboo sticks, his colleague Mohammed Abdullah said.

The attack happened when he got into a car after being bailed over a defamation case by a court in the western town of Kushtia. "It was a brutal attack. They hit the right side of his head with a brick. We are now heading to Jessore city on an ambulance," Abdullah said.

Images on social media showed Rahman bloody but conscious and able to walk. Rahman was the editor of the mass-circulation pro-opposition Bengali daily Amar Desh, which was shut down by the government in 2013. He also heads a pro-opposition professional group. Abdullah said Rahman had been confined to the courtroom for five hours after more than 100 of the activists took up position outside.