Members of the Bangladeshi community in Malta held a protest outside the European Parliament's office in Valletta on Tuesday to draw attention to human rights violations in their country.
Speakers recounted harrowing experiences suffered by their compatriots, including the beating and killing of protestors, the imposition of a draconian curfew as well as a communications blackout.
Bangladesh Malta Business Association Secretary Nazmul Istiak said the people were calling for a change of government, prosecution of those who committed atrocities and justice for those whose family members were murdered.
Bangladesh has seen days of protests which began as demonstrations against politicised admission quotas for sought-after government jobs and snowballed last week into some of the worst unrest of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's tenure.
Some 2,500 protesters are now being held behind bars. At least 174 people have died, including several police officers.
A student group leading the demonstrations suspended its protests Monday for 48 hours, with its leader saying they had not wanted reform "at the expense of so much blood".
The restrictions remained in place Tuesday after the army chief said the situation had been brought "under control".
The telecommunications minister said broadband internet would be restored on Tuesday evening, although he made no mention of mobile internet -- a key communication method for protest organisers.
The head of Students Against Discrimination, the main group organising the protests, told AFP in his hospital room Monday that he feared for his life after being abducted and beaten.
"Young people are being killed at random every day. Hospitals do not reveal the number of wounded and dead," Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus told AFP.
Hasina, 76, has ruled the country since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.
Her government is also accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including by the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.