Bangladeshi police arrest 13 in lynching of teen

SYLHET , Bangladesh, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Protesters across Bangladesh demanded justice after a video of a lynching surfaced on social media led to arrests.

The gruesome video, taken in July with a cellphone, shows Samiul Alam Rajon, 13, tied to a pole and beaten to death for allegedly stealing a bicycle-powered van in Kumargaon, a suburb of Sylhet, Bangladesh. It was widely seen on YouTube and other social media, prompting street protests across the country. Over 1,000 people attended the protest in Sylhet.

While mobs often attack suspected thieves in Bangladesh, the age of the victim and the severity of the beating caused the national outrage.Odhikar, a Bangladeshi human rights group, recently reported 903 people were lynched in Bangladesh since 2009, at least 60 in the past six months.

Police charged 13 men Sunday with murder, adding 10 have already admitted their involvement in the crime. Three others, including the alleged ringleader, Kamrul Islam, were charged with murder in absentia. Islam was arrested in Saudi Arabia after he fled there immediately after the assault; Saudi police credit the large Bangladeshi expatriate community in Saudi Arabia for tips which led to his arrest.