‘Frightening situation’: Bangladesh elections haunted by political violence

Dhaka, Bangladesh — When Kazi Shawon Alam learned that Azizur Rahman Musabbir, a fellow Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activist, had been shot dead on January 7, it confirmed to him what many political organisers already felt ahead of Bangladesh’s February 12 parliamentary elections: campaigning had become dangerous.

Musabbir’s killing felt personal. Shawon had gone to jail ...