Democracy in the Crossfire

This 64-page report details violent protests by opposition activists who called for an election boycott. On numerous occasions, opposition party members and activists threw petrol bombs at trucks, buses, and motorized rickshaws. In some cases, opposition group members forced children to carry out the attacks. In response, the government unleashed a brutal crackdown. Human Rights Watch researchers documented how members of law enforcement agencies carried out extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and the unlawful destruction of private property.