The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has reported concerning instances of retaliatory violence, including targeted killings, against Awami League officials, supporters, and minority communities such as Hindus, Ahmadiyya Muslims, and indigenous groups from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The report attributes responsibility for severe human rights violations to the former Hasina government during last year’s student uprising, which may have resulted in approximately 1,400 deaths.
According to the fact-finding mission, minorities in Bangladesh experienced significant human rights abuses under the interim government led by Mohammad Yunus. While authorities have arrested around 100 individuals in connection with attacks on religious and indigenous groups, many perpetrators remain unpunished, the report states.
The document further alleges that Bangladesh’s security and intelligence agencies, along with “violent elements” of the Awami League under then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, were involved in extrajudicial killings. The investigation, conducted from September 16, 2024, onwards, involved a team of specialists, including a physician, a weapons expert, a gender specialist, legal and media advisors, and open-source analysts.
The UN fact-finding mission was deployed at the request of interim government chief adviser Mohammad Yunus and other senior officials. Findings indicate that security forces were responsible for most of the deaths and injuries, with children comprising approximately 12-13 per cent of those killed. Although the Bangladesh Police reported losing 44 officers, the Awami League government had initially acknowledged only 150 deaths in the early days of the uprising.
The 114-page report details how intelligence agencies, including the Directorate-General of Armed Forces Intelligence (DGFI), National Security Intelligence (NSI), and the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC), along with specialized police units such as the Detective Branch, Special Branch, and the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC), played an active role in suppressing protests through serious human rights violations. The report also accuses these agencies of systematically concealing evidence of these violations.
The unrest began in June when students launched a movement against a now-repealed quota system that favoured descendants of 1971 Muktijoddhas (liberation war heroes). The protests soon escalated into a broader rebellion against Sheikh Hasina’s government, ultimately leading to her departure from Dhaka to India on August 5. The downfall of the Awami League’s 15-year rule has since fueled further turmoil, resulting in the persecution of party officials, police officers, educators, writers, actors, and minority communities.
The instability in Bangladesh continued with the demolition of 32, Dhanmondi, the historic residence of the nation’s founding leader and Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, last week.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk condemned the violent suppression of protests, stating, “The brutal response was a calculated and well-coordinated strategy by the former government to cling to power despite mass opposition. There is credible evidence to suggest that extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and acts of torture were carried out with the knowledge and approval of political leaders and senior security officials.”
He further emphasized, “The testimonies and evidence we have gathered depict a harrowing landscape of state-sponsored violence and targeted killings. These actions represent grave human rights violations and may constitute international crimes. Accountability and justice are essential for Bangladesh’s future stability.”
The report details patterns of security forces deliberately targeting protesters, including instances where individuals were shot at close range. It also documents cases of gender-based violence, including physical assaults and threats of sexual violence, aimed at deterring women from participating in protests.
Among the many harrowing cases, the report highlights the death of a 12-year-old protester in Dhanmondi, who succumbed to internal bleeding after being hit by approximately 200 metal pellets. Additionally, several young children lost their lives, including a six-year-old girl in Narayanganj who was shot in the head while observing clashes from her rooftop.
Furthermore, the report states there are strong indications that Abu Sayed, a prominent student leader and one of the key figures in last year’s rebellion, was deliberately executed extrajudicially by police forces.