A prominent Bangladeshi expatriate intellectual has urged United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to initiate an independent and transparent review of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report on the July–August 2024 protests in Bangladesh, alleging that the UN document is riddled with inaccuracies, omissions, and political bias that have “damaged the credibility of the United Nations” and “justified repressive measures” by the country’s current interim regime.
In a six-page open letter dated November 6, 2025, addressed to Mr. Guterres and copied to UNDP Acting Administrator Haoliang Xu, Dr. Mohsin Ali—a New York-based Bangladeshi author and academic who has written over 50 books in English and Bengali—described the OHCHR’s February 2025 Fact-Finding Report on Human Rights Violations and Abuses Related to the Protests of July and August 2024 as “factually inconsistent, methodologically compromised, and politically selective.”
The letter follows the October 15, 2025 public statement by UN High Commissioner Volker Türk, who had urged Dhaka’s interim authorities to prosecute 25 senior officers accused of involvement in the 2024 protest crackdown. According to Dr. Ali, that statement and the underlying report have triggered politically motivated proceedings against “decorated veterans who once served honorably in UN peacekeeping missions across Africa and the Middle East.”
Claims of Inflated Death Toll and Suppressed Facts
Citing verified hospital and morgue records, Dr. Ali wrote that 657 deaths were confirmed between July 16 and August 8, 2024 — a figure consistent with early UN assessments. However, he said the OHCHR’s final report “inflated the toll to 1,400 deaths” without verifiable sources, relying instead on “discussions with government officials and injured persons.”
Even Bangladesh’s own interim Ministry of Health reported 824 deaths, which later audits found to include 52 living persons and unrelated fatalities such as road accidents, he said.
The letter accused the OHCHR of omitting critical facts that “distorted the narrative,” including:
- The killing of nearly 3,200 police officers, many publicly mutilated;
- The Indemnity Decree issued by the Yunus administration shielding perpetrators of violence;
- The politically motivated dismissal of Supreme and High Court judges;
- Forensic evidence of sniper ammunition found in agitators’ homes;
- The release of convicted terrorists and widespread looting of state armories and prisons;
- The burning of public infrastructure—including metro rail, TV studios, and rail lines—by hired mobs.
“These omissions,” Dr. Ali warned, “present a selective account that risks criminalizing those who sought to protect citizens while ignoring the actions of the actual perpetrators.”
Political and Humanitarian Fallout
The letter argues that the “one-sided portrayal” has emboldened the unelected interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, legitimizing widespread arrests, media censorship, and extrajudicial killings.
“The country — which once earned global recognition for its poverty reduction, women’s empowerment, and disaster resilience — now faces economic dislocation, institutional paralysis, and social unrest,” Dr. Ali wrote.
He warned that the deteriorating situation has fueled a new wave of asylum-seeking Bangladeshis, many risking their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea toward Europe — including Portugal, the Secretary-General’s home country.
Call for UN Accountability and Independent Review
Dr. Ali’s appeal calls on the UN to commission an independent international inquiry to examine both the accuracy and methodology of the OHCHR’s report and its use by Bangladesh’s interim government to justify political prosecutions.
He urged that such a review be carried out by impartial experts unaffiliated with either the UN’s current Bangladesh country team or the interim regime, warning that “no report bearing the UN’s name should be tainted by political manipulation or methodological bias.”
“Bangladesh has long been one of the UN’s most dependable partners,” he reminded Mr. Guterres. “Seeing its peacekeepers and officers vilified based on questionable data is profoundly disheartening.”
An Appeal to Restore the UN’s Moral Authority
In closing, Dr. Ali wrote that the people of Bangladesh continue to look to the UN as “a guardian of fairness and humanity, not a political actor.”
“A flawed report, if left unexamined,” he warned, “will stain the reputation of the OHCHR and erode faith in the international system itself.”
He added, “History will judge our silence far more harshly than our courage to correct a mistake.”
Dr. Ali provided his New York contact number and email, offering full cooperation and documentation for any UN inquiry.
The letter marks one of the strongest public appeals by a Bangladeshi intellectual to the UN since the controversial interim government assumed power in August 2024 amid accusations of military-Islamist backing and systemic suppression of pro-democracy forces.
Full Text of the Letter
The following is the complete version of the letter sent by Dr. Mohsin Ali to UN Secretary-General António Guterres on November 6, 2025.
6 November 2025
His Excellency António Guterres
Secretary-General
United Nations Headquarters 405 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017, USA.
Subject: Urgent Appeal for an Independent Investigation into the OHCHR’s Bangladesh Report.
Dear Mr. Secretary-General,
I write to you with deep concern regarding the recent public statement made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 15 October 2025 and the earlier Fact-Finding Report on Human Rights Violations and Abuses Related to the Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh, issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on 12 February 2025.
It has been reported that, based on this document, the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal has recommended the arrest of twenty-five senior military officers — decorated veterans who have served honorably in UN peacekeeping operations across Africa and the Middle East. The High Commissioner, Mr. Volker Türk, has urged the Bangladesh authorities to prosecute them before a tribunal whose procedures, jurisdiction, and mandates have been repeatedly amended, raising serious questions about due process and judicial independence.
While the pursuit of accountability is an essential human-rights principle, the credibility of that pursuit depends on the accuracy, fairness, and impartiality of the process. Unfortunately, serious factual inconsistencies and omissions in the OHCHR report have eroded public confidence and cast doubt on the objectivity of the Office’s findings.
1. Statistical and Methodological Inconsistencies
According to Bangladesh’s leading national newspapers and verified hospital and morgue records, 329 people died between 16 July and 5 August 2024, and a further 328 deaths occurred between 5 and 8 August — a total of 657 fatalities. The preliminary UN assessment of August 2024 cited approximately 650 deaths, corroborating those domestic figures.
However, the OHCHR’s final report inflated the toll to 1,400 deaths, citing “discussions with government officials and injured persons” as its source, without verifiable documentation. Even the interim administration’s own Ministry of Health reported 824 deaths, which subsequent audits revealed to include 52 individuals who were alive and several unrelated fatalities (such as road accidents). These unexplained numerical discrepancies undermine confidence in the report’s evidentiary integrity and methodology.
2. Key Omissions that Distort the Narrative
Equally concerning are critical facts that the OHCHR report failed to include:
The killing of nearly 3,200 police officers during the uprising, many publicly mutilated and displayed.
The Indemnity Decree issued by the interim Yunus Administration shields perpetrators of violence from prosecution.
The politically motivated dismissal of Supreme and High Court judges violates judicial independence.
The death of Abu Sayeed, proven by autopsy to result from blunt-force trauma, not gunfire.
Forensic evidence of 7.62 mm sniper ammunition, never issued to the Bangladesh Police, was found in the homes of known agitators.
The release of convicted terrorists and the looting of weapons from state armouries and prisons.
The burning and destruction of metro-rail infrastructure, television studios, railway lines, and government facilities by hired mobs.
The OHCHR’s silence on public confessions broadcast by self-identified perpetrators who admitted arson and killings.
By omitting these facts, the report presents a selective account that risks criminalizing those who sought to protect citizens while ignoring the actions of the actual perpetrators.
3. Consequences of a Partial Report
This one-sided portrayal has had grave implications. It has emboldened an unelected interim regime, lent legitimacy to repressive measures, and deepened Bangladesh’s political instability. The country — which once earned global recognition for its poverty reduction, women’s empowerment, and disaster resilience — now faces economic dislocation, institutional paralysis, and social unrest. Every week brings new reports of extrajudicial killings, mob violence, and mass arrests.
The deterioration of governance has spurred an exodus of desperate citizens seeking asylum and irregular migration routes toward Europe and the Mediterranean — a humanitarian crisis in the making. Ironically, many of these migrants are bound for Portugal, your own homeland, and other EU member states.
4. Appeal for Restoring the UN’s Integrity
Mr. Secretary-General,
Bangladesh has long been one of the UN’s most dependable partners, contributing thousands of peacekeepers under the blue flag. Seeing these same soldiers and officers now vilified based on questionable data is profoundly disheartening. The integrity of the United Nations demands that no report bearing its name should be tainted by political manipulation or methodological bias.
For this reason, I respectfully urge your office to commission an independent, transparent, and internationally supervised investigation into both:
1. The accuracy and methodology of the OHCHR’s Bangladesh report; and
2. The use of that report by the interim administration to justify politically motivated prosecutions.
Such an inquiry, composed of impartial experts unaffiliated with the current UN country team or the interim regime, would help restore public trust in the United Nations, reaffirm its commitment to truth, and ensure justice for all — both victims of violence and those wrongfully accused.
5. Closing Appeal
The people of Bangladesh continue to look to the United Nations not as a political actor but as a guardian of fairness and humanity. A flawed report, if left unexamined, will not only stain the reputation of the OHCHR but also weaken faith in the international system itself. History will judge our silence far more harshly than our courage to correct a mistake.
If further clarification or documentation is required, I remain available at +1 516-244-3733 or via correspondence at your convenience.
With my highest respect and faith in your leadership.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mohsin Ali
Poet/Novelist/Writer
(Author of 35 English and 15 Bengali Books)
New York, USA
