DHAKA: A UN report released on Wednesday found that human rights abuses were inflicted on members of Bangladesh’s Hindu, Ahmadiyya Muslim and indigenous communities during the anti-discrimination protests that led to Sheikh Hasina govt’s fall and its aftermath in 204.
While 100 arrests related to attacks on distinct religious & indigenous groups have reportedly been made, perpetrators of many other acts of revenge violence and targeted attacks on such groups still enjoy impunity, UN Human Rights Office said. After fall of the govt, “widespread attacks were reported against Hindu homes, businesses and places of worship”, it said. The report validates India’s repeated claims of targeted attacks on Hindus & temples.
UN reports rights abuses in B’desh 2024 protest response, estimates 1,400 killed
Widespread attacks were reported against Hindu homes, businesses, and places of worship, especially in rural and historically tense areas such as Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat and Dinajpur, as well as other places such as Sylhet, Khulna, and Rangpur”, said the UN report titled ‘Human Rights Violations and Abuses related to Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh’.
These destructions were especially prevalent in areas perceived to be sympathetic to the Awami League as Hindus have often been stereotypically associated with this political faction, it added. The report, based on the deaths reported by various credible sources, also estimated that as many as 1,400 people may have been killed during July 1-Aug 15 last year and thousands were injured, the vast majority of whom were shot by Bangladesh’s security forces.
“Bangladesh’s former govt, security and intelligence services, alongside violent elements associated with Awami League, systematically engaged in a range of serious human rights violations during last year’s student-led protests,” it added.
Former PM Sheikh Hasina left the country on Aug 5 and Muhammad Yunus-led interim govt began its journey three days later. The report released by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented “troubling instances” of retaliatory killings and revenge violence during the student-led protests. It stated that security and intelligence services “systematically engaged” in rights violations that could amount to crimes against humanity.
UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk described the response as a “calculated and well-coordinated strategy” by the Hasina govt to retain power amid mass opposition. “Hundreds of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and torture” were carried out with political leadership’s knowledge and coordination, he added.
Director of Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) Suhas Chakma criticised the report for not identifying individual officers responsible for the carnage, citing the limitations of Yunus’s interim govt, which restricted the investigation period from July 5 to Aug 15, 2024.
The report also includes recommendations to reform Bangladesh’s security and justice sectors. “The interim govt must ensure that violent crimes targeting supporters of Awami League, police officers, or members of distinct religious and indigenous groups are promptly and independently investigated with due diligence and that identified perpetrators are brought to justice,” it said.