The United Nations (UN) has accused Bangladesh’s former government, led by ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, of orchestrating systematic attacks and killings of protesters in a bid to retain power last year. According to a UN report released on Wednesday, Hasina’s administration, along with violent elements of the Awami League party and the country’s security and intelligence forces, carried out a “widespread and systematic attack against protesters and other civilians.” The report alleges crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, unlawful imprisonment, and other inhumane acts.
Hasina, 77, was toppled in a student-led revolution last August following a brutal crackdown on protests. She has since fled into exile in India and has refused to comply with an arrest warrant to face trial in Bangladesh for crimes against humanity.
The UN rights office launched a fact-finding mission at the request of Bangladesh’s interim leader, Mohammed Yunus. The mission, comprising human rights investigators, a forensic physician, and a weapons expert, conducted more than 230 interviews with victims, witnesses, protest leaders, and rights defenders.They also reviewed medical reports, photos, videos, and other documents. The findings indicate that security forces backed Hasina’s government throughout the unrest, which initially began as protests against civil service job quotas but later escalated into mass calls for her resignation.In response, authorities resorted to increasingly violent means to suppress dissent.
The report estimates that as many as 1,400 people were killed over 45 days, with thousands more injured. The vast majority of victims were shot by security forces, with children accounting for 12 to 13 percent of those killed.This toll significantly surpasses the interim government’s earlier estimate of 834 deaths.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk condemned the “calculated and well-coordinated strategy” of the former government to retain power, stating that evidence points to hundreds of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and torture, carried out with the knowledge and direction of senior political and security officials. The report also documented gender-based violence, including threats of rape aimed at deterring women from participating in protests. Additionally, it noted cases of lynchings and retaliatory violence against police and Awami League supporters.
“The brutal response by the former government paints a disturbing picture of rampant state violence and targeted killings,” Türk said, calling for a comprehensive process of truth-telling, justice, and accountability to ensure such atrocities are never repeated.
