United News of Bangladesh

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Tuesday alleged that six top leaders of his party were victims of so-called ‘judicial killings’ through fabricated cases under Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic rule. “During Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian regime, our six top leaders were executed through false cases in what can only be described as manipulated judicial killings. Many other leaders and activists were also brutally murdered. During the mass movement of 2024, numerous people were mercilessly martyred,” he said. The Jamaat Ameer came up with the remarks while speaking at a press conference at the meeting room of Diploma Engineers' Institute in the city following the acquittal of Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam. Dr Shafiqur Rahman claimed that the trials were marred by gross irregularities and forgery. “There were calls from various quarters for ensuring fair justice, but those were ignored as the true intention was to eliminate our leadership. The judiciary was used to orchestrate their deaths.” Elections before reforms may not meet people's expectations: Jamaat Ameer He further alleged that the party’s leaders were subjected to torture in 'safe homes' and were harassed through false charges. “Attempts were made to coerce false confessions from many of our leaders. But they remained steadfast in faith and refused to bow to falsehood,” the Jamaat Ameer said. Referring to the case of witness Sukharanjan Bali, he said Bali was allegedly abducted from the court premises after appearing to testify in favour of Azharul Islam. “International legal standards were not followed in these trials. The entire process was a mockery of justice—what we call ‘genocide justice’,” the Jamaat leader said. “If we get the opportunity to serve the nation, we will eliminate the politics of vengeance and build a just and equitable society… had our senior leaders been alive today, they could have played a vital role during this critical juncture of the nation,” he said.

Welcoming the report by the UN Human Rights Office, Chief Adviser Prof  Muhammad Yunus has reiterated the interim government’s commitment to upholding the rule of law and called on all members of Bangladesh’s justice system, including the police, prosecutors and judges, to do the same. “I, along with everyone else working in the interim government and millions of other Bangladeshis, am committed to transforming Bangladesh into a country in which all its people can live in security and dignity,” he said on Wednesday. The interim government thanked the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for undertaking the “most thorough independent investigation” to date of the events in Bangladesh in July and August that ended the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime. As the report notes, the long years of the Hasina regime have left Bangladesh with ‘structural deficiencies’ in the law enforcement and justice sectors, said the Chief Adviser. Chief Adviser to visit Aynaghar soon The reform of these institutions is crucial to Bangladesh’s transformation into a society where its entire people can live in security and dignity, he said. “I call on everyone working inside these institutions to side with justice, the law, and the people of Bangladesh in holding to account their own peers and others who have broken the law and violated the human and civil rights of their fellow citizens.” The OHCHR made its investigation at the invitation of Bangladesh’s interim government. Its report identified extensive and grave human rights violations, including alleged extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, and disproportionate use of force by the Sheikh Hasina-led government and elements associated with the Awami League, as well as a broader array of security and intelligence agencies. Based on deaths reported by various credible sources, the report estimated that as many as 1,400 people may have been killed between 1 July and 15 August, and thousands were injured, the vast majority of whom were shot by Bangladesh’s security forces.  CA Dr Yunus to visit 'Aynaghar' soon Of these, the report indicated that as many as 12-13 percent of those killed were children. Bangladesh Police reported that 44 of its officers were killed.