The Bangladesh Awami League has issued a strong response to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report released this month, which details killings and human rights violations in Bangladesh during July-August. The Awami League contends that the report is biased, one-sided, and based on fabricated information.
Paragraph 222: OHCHR admitted it was unable to determine the exact number of Awami League leaders, activists, supporters, and police officers killed. Despite receiving some lists, they were unable to verify them.
Paragraph 226: The report portrayed the illegal government’s actions of filing widespread murder cases against journalists as “satisfactory.”
Paragraph 247: OHCHR falsely claimed that the judicial inquiry was set up only to investigate the killings, terrorism, arson, looting, etc., committed by the quota reform protesters. However, there was no such provision in the Prime Minister’s declaration or the terms of reference of the Judicial Inquiry Committee.
Paragraph 262: OHCHR mentioned international standards of criminal justice in a lenient manner regarding immunity granted by the illegal interim government for acts of terrorism, including killings.
Paragraph 290: OHCHR labeled only the casualties of the protests as crimes against humanity, ignoring attacks on state establishments by BNP-Jamaat terrorists during student protests in Dhaka. Furthermore, OHCHR stated it had reasonable grounds to believe the attacks on protesters constituted crimes against humanity but required further evidence to confirm these crimes.
Paragraph 315: OHCHR raised allegations of politicization of the police force during the Awami League government, closely resembling the narrative of BNP-Jamaat.
Paragraph 332: OHCHR claimed there had been no development in rural areas of Bangladesh in education and social sectors, overlooking the significant progress made during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s governance.
Paragraph 337: The report discussed Bangladesh’s judicial process and emphasized the need for fair and impartial investigations. However, concerns were raised about the ability to conduct such investigations after the police force was allegedly destroyed and politicized.
Paragraph 344: OHCHR addressed the independence and impartiality of the judiciary but failed to mention the removal of the Chief Justice and senior judges through ‘mob rule’ after August 5.
The Awami League argues that the OHCHR report does not acknowledge the attack on the judiciary, raising serious questions about the neutrality and fairness of OHCHR’s position. The party asserts that the biased stance of OHCHR is evident throughout the report, undermining its credibility and failing to address serious violations of justice and human rights by the government in power.