Bangladesh: A UN report reveals “brutal repression” of the protests by the former leaders

In addition to those who were killed by the security and intelligence services of the former government, along with the Awami Association Party’s partners, a report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on alleged crimes during protests indicated the injury of thousands, including a young man who was shot in his hand from a close distance to throw stones.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights said: “There are reasonable reasons for the belief that officials from the previous government and its security and intelligence services, along with violent elements linked to the former ruling party, have committed serious and methodological violations of human rights.”

Speaking to reporters in Geneva today, Wednesday, Mr. Turk highlighted that some of the most dangerous violations in the report may constitute international crimes that could be considered by the International Criminal Court, as Bangladesh is a state party to the Rome system that established the court in The Hague.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the alleged crimes in Bangladesh against the protest led by the students included “Hundreds of killings outside the scope of judicial, arbitrary detention, detention, torture and abuse, including children, as well as gender -based violence.”

Iron grip

Mr. Turk confirmed that these violations were carried out “By knowing, coordinating and directing the previous political leadership and senior security officials, with a specific goal of suppressing protests and maintaining the grip of the previous government over power.”

According to the UNHCR report, up to 12 or 13 percent of the dead were children. Bangladesh police reported that 44 of its officers were killed between July 1 and August 15, 2024.

The protests last summer – which prompted Prime Minister Sheikha Hasina to step down 15 years in power – had erupted due to the Supreme Court’s decision to restore the shares system in public service jobs. But the wider grievances were already common because of “Devastating and corrupt policies” Which established the disparities, according to the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

On his visit to the capital, Dhaka, in September, Mr. Turk told reporters: “I went to a hospital in Bangladesh when I visited her, and she was able to speak to some survivors and some of them would have been disabled for life. Especially young … some of them were children.”

The state’s killings

The High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed that “The brutal response was a well -studied and well -coordinated strategy by the previous government to adhere to power in the face of the mass opposition.”

He added: “The testimonies and evidence that we collected draw a disturbing image of the violence that is rampant by the state and the targeted killing, which is among the most dangerous human rights violations, which may also constitute international crimes. Accountability and justice are necessary for national recovery and the future of Bangladesh.”

The investigation mission of the United Nations Office for Human Rights began its work in Bangladesh on September 16, 2024 with a team that includes a legal doctor, an expert in arms, a gender expert and an analyst for open sources. Investigators have visited hot protest points, including universities and hospitals, and their work has completed more than 900 certificates of eyewitnesses.