Bangladesh Human Rights Violations
UN Investigation Uncovers Systematic Human Rights Violations
According to a UN Human Rights Office investigation, during last year’s student-led protests, the former government, security forces, and intelligence agencies of Bangladesh, as well as violent groups connected to the Awami League party, systematically engaged in several grave human rights violations. Based on top officials’ testimony and additional evidence, it also discovered a program of attacking and forcefully suppressing anti-government demonstrators and supporters, raising concerns about crimes against humanity that need immediate criminal investigation.
Death Toll and Widespread Brutality During Protests
Up to 1,400 people may have died between July 1 and August 15, according to the research, which is based on deaths reported by numerous reliable sources. Thousands more were injured, the great majority of whom were shot by Bangladesh’s security forces. According to the research, minors made up as many as 12–13 percent of those killed. 44 of its personnel were slain, according to Bangladesh Police.
Protests Sparked by Controversial Court Ruling and Political Corruption
The High Court’s ruling to reintroduce a quota system in public sector positions set off the protests. Still, they were also the result of much larger complaints about corrupt and harmful politics and governance that had solidified economic inequality. According to the report, the previous government made a concerted effort to end these protests using ever more violent tactics to stay in power.
State-Orchestrated Crackdown on Demonstrators
According to UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk, the harsh reaction was a well-thought-out and coordinated tactic used by the previous government to maintain control in the face of widespread resistance. “As part of a plan to quell the protests, there are good reasons to believe that hundreds of extrajudicial killings, numerous arbitrary arrests and detentions, and torture were carried out with the knowledge, coordination, and direction of the political leadership and senior security officials.”
Extrajudicial Killings and Arbitrary Arrests Exposed
“The data and testimonials we collected present a troubling picture of widespread state brutality and targeted killings, which rank among the most grave human rights abuses and may even be considered international crimes. Justice and accountability are crucial for Bangladesh’s future and for the country’s recovery, he continued.
The UN Human Rights Office sent a team to Bangladesh in September, comprising human rights investigators, a forensics physician, and a weapons expert, at the request of Mohammed Yunus, the Chief Advisor of the Interim Government, to carry out an independent and unbiased fact-finding into the fatal incidents. The Interim Government produced extensive documentation, allowed the requested access, and offered great cooperation with the investigation.
According to other inside sources and former senior officials who were directly involved in managing the protests, the former prime minister and other senior officials planned and directed several extensive operations in which security and intelligence forces arbitrarily detained and tortured demonstrators or shot and killed them.
High-Profile Cases of Protesters Killed by Security Forces
The research uncovered trends in the willful and illegal killing or injuring severely of demonstrators, including instances in which individuals were shot at close range. The article looked closely at the famous case of Abu Sayed, who was caught on camera yelling, “Shoot me,” at police during a protest at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, with his arms spread wide. Investigators recreated his murder using photos, videos, and geolocation technologies to support witness accounts of how it happened. According to a forensic study, his wounds were compatible with being shot at least twice from a distance of roughly 14 meters using shotguns filled with metal pellets.
According to the report’s conclusion, there are good reasons to think that the police killed Abu Sayed on purpose outside of court. Women, including protest organizers, were attacked by security personnel and Awami League supporters, tortured, arbitrarily arrested, and mistreated after leading the initial protests. To prevent women from taking part in protests, the report details instances of gender-based violence, including physical attacks and threats of rape.
Children Targeted: Killings, Torture, and Inhumane Detentions
Additionally, it revealed that children were tortured, arbitrarily arrested, and held in cruel conditions by police and other security forces, who also killed and wounded them. A 12-year-old demonstrator in Dhanmondi died from an internal hemorrhage brought on by about 200 metal shot pellets, one of numerous fatal incidents that have been reported. Very young children who were shot as bystanders or who were brought to protests by their parents were also among the dead.
In one instance, a six-year-old girl in Narayanganj was shot in the head while she was standing on her building’s top watching violent altercations during a demonstration. A 12-year-old child who was wounded by police in Azampur on August 5, the last and worst day of the riots, recalled that police were “firing everywhere like rainfall.” He said he saw a dozen or more dead bodies.
Suppression of Medical Evidence and Denial of Healthcare
In an apparent attempt to identify protesters and hide evidence of the extent of violence by State forces, the report also details instances in which security forces intimidated medical staff, seized hospital CCTV footage without due process, denied or obstructed critical medical care for injured protesters, and questioned patients and took their fingerprints in hospitals.
As the old government began to lose control of the nation, it also details alarming cases of retaliatory killings and other severe acts of vengeance violence directed at Awami League officials and sympathizers, as well as the police and media. Human rights violations also affected Ahmadiyya Muslims, Hindus, and indigenous people from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The article claims that although there have been about 100 arrests related to attacks on specific religious and indigenous groups, many additional acts of retaliatory violence and attacks against these communities continue to go unpunished.
A Call for Truth, Accountability, and Healing in Bangladesh
The report offers a comprehensive set of proposals to reform the judicial and security sectors, do away with several oppressive laws and organizations that are meant to suppress political and civic dissent and make more significant adjustments to the political and economic systems. The High Commissioner stated that “the best way for Bangladesh to move forward is to confront the terrible wrongs done during this time, through a thorough process of truth-telling, healing, and accountability, and to redress the legacy of serious human rights violations and ensure they can never happen again.” “This is an important national accountability and reform process, and my office is prepared to help.”