Dhaka: Bangladesh’s ousted Sheikh Hasina’s government and security and intelligence services, alongside violent elements associated with the Awami League party, systematically engaged in a range of serious human rights violations during last year’s student-led protests, a report by the UN Human Rights Office has found.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, drawing on testimony of senior officials and other evidence, the report also found an official policy to attack and violently repress anti-government protesters and sympathisers, raising concerns as to crimes against humanity requiring urgent further criminal investigation. The report estimates that as many as 1,400 people may have been killed between 1 July and 15 August, with thousands injured, the vast majority of whom were shot by Bangladesh’s security forces. Of these, the report indicates that as many as 12-13 percent of those killed were children.
The protests were triggered by the High Court’s decision to reinstate a quota system in public service jobs but were rooted in much broader grievances arising from destructive and corrupt politics and governance that had entrenched economic inequalities. To remain in power, the former government tried systematically to suppress these protests with increasingly violent means.
‘The brutal response was a calculated and well-coordinated strategy by the former government to hold onto power in the face of mass opposition,’ said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Trk at a press briefing held in Geneva. He highlighted the widespread extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and torture carried out with the political leadership’s knowledge and direction as part of a strategy to suppress the protests.
At the request of the Chief Advisor Professor Dr Mohammed Yunus, the UN Human Rights Office dispatched a team to Bangladesh in September, including human rights investigators, a forensics physician, and a weapons expert, to conduct an independent and impartial fact-finding mission. The interim government provided significant cooperation, granting access and substantial documentation.
The report detailed incidents of deliberate killings or maiming of protesters by security forces, including the emblematic case of Abu Sayed, who was filmed challenging police before being shot. Forensic analysis confirmed his injuries were consistent with being shot with metal pellets from close range, leading to the conclusion that his death was a deliberate extrajudicial killing.
Women protest leaders faced arbitrary arrests, torture, and gender-based violence, including threats of rape, to deter their participation. Children were also victims, subjected to arrest, inhumane detention conditions, and torture. The report documented a tragic case of a 12-year-old protester in Dhanmondi dying from injuries caused by metal pellets, and a six-year-old girl in Narayanganj being killed by a bullet while observing a protest.
The report further documented how security forces obstructed medical care for injured protesters, interrogated patients, intimidated medical personnel, and seized hospital CCTV footage without due process to conceal evidence of state violence.
The UN report concluded with recommendations for reforms in the security and justice sectors, the abolition of repressive laws, and broader political and economic governance changes. High Commissioner Volker Turk emphasized the necessity of truth-telling, healing, and accountability to redress past wrongs and prevent future human rights violations. He assured that his Office stands ready to assist in this national accountability and reform process.