Islami (Jamaat), the largest Muslim political party in the country, could not exercise their constitutional freedoms of speech and assembly because of harassment by law enforcement authorities. Jamaat was deregistered as a political party by the government, prohibiting candidates from seeking office under the Jamaat name. Media outlets deemed critical of the government and the AL were subjected to government intimidation and cuts in advertising revenue and thus practiced some self-censorship. AL-affiliated organizations, such as its student wing the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), reportedly carried out violence and intimidation around the country with impunity, including against individuals affiliated with opposition groups. On May 26, the student wings of the BNP and the AL engaged in violent clashes at Dhaka University. This was in response to a BNP student protest regarding previous violence at the hands of the BCL. AL student leaders reportedly patrolled the campus with makeshift weapons and intercepted BNP student protesters, critically injuring several. In April when violence in Dhaka’s New Market area resulted in the loss of two lives, further violence incited by the AL student league occurred in April. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir claimed police incited the violence rather than curtailing it, leading to further violence. On December 9, police arrested BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas in a case regarding December 7 clashes between police and BNP party members at the BNP’s headquarters in Dhaka’s Nayapaltan area. Observers alleged the arrests were politically motivated ahead of the BNP’s scheduled December 10 rally in Dhaka. During the December 7 clash, police killed one man and injured several more. The 86 criminal charges filed by the government against Alamgir in previous years remained unresolved. The charges involved attacks on police, burning buses, and bombings. In several instances, the government interfered with the right of opposition parties to organize public functions and restricted broadcasting of opposition political events. Page 31