Challenging the claim of 1,400 people being killed by the police during the anti-government protests last year, Awami League President and five-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Amnesty International to publish the list of the deceased.
During a virtual meeting on Monday, she also called for a proper investigation into the deaths to unearth the mystery behind the โmeticulously designedโ killings of protesters, ordinary people, and the police, orchestrated by Muhammad Yunus and his gang.
She also criticised the Jamaat-controlled interim government for declaring indemnity for the killings and other crimes committed against the police and Awami League leaders and activists, and vowed to ensure justice when her party returns to power.
โWhen six people were killed [on July 16], I ordered the formation of a judicial inquiry committee and asked the United Nations to investigate the deaths. Why would I have formed the inquiry committee had I ordered the murders?
โI did it because I wanted to know how these killings took place and who killed them. Our police force did not use such lethal bullets,โ she said, blaming Yunus for the planned murders using 7.62-grade bullets.
Sheikh Hasina said the UN and London-based human rights group Amnesty International should thoroughly investigate each death during the protest and post-August 5 period, exhume the bodies, and conduct forensics.
โI am challenging them: give me the list of 1,400 persons.โ
They should investigate the list of 834 people published by the governmentโs gazette because there are discrepancies and false claims. Many of them were killed during arson attacks or looting, with some dying from cardiac arrest. Even some of the deceased have returned home, Sheikh Hasina said.
She added that the UN fact-finding mission did not pay heed to the information provided by the Awami League. They prepared the report based on prescriptions given by the Yunus Gang to malign her government.
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Sheikh Hasina also criticised the BBC for its documentary, adding that the UK-based news provider should have produced it impartially, after incorporating the killings and other crimes by the protesters and speaking to the affected families across the country.
She insisted that the UN, Amnesty International, the BBC, and the International Crimes Tribunal should ensure justice for each death since July 15.
In another meeting recently, Sheikh Hasina noted that the anti-quota movement remained peaceful until July 15, but thereafter, protesters began attacking police, torching government buildings, and blocking roads.
She said that they targeted both police and military personnel, who have the right toย self-defense. Her government, she said, took necessary actions to protect lives and property. โWe did nothing wrong.โ
In its full report published on February 12, the OHCHR said it assessed that there could have been as many as 1,400 protest-related deaths for the period of July 15 to August 5, without providing a list.
However, the UN was supposed to investigate the incidents from July 1 to August 15.
The report said the National Security Intelligence (NSI), under the chief adviserโs office, provided OHCHR with the names and dates of death for 314 people killed during the protest who were not included in the Ministry of Health data (835 deaths).
On the other hand, the government has provided financial assistance to 647 families of the deceased.
Several newspapers and foundation officials have identified more than five people who were included in the list of deceased using false information.
Moreover, over 200 protesters who were killed in Jashore and the Gazi Tyre factory in Narayanganj while looting valuables have also been added to the governmentโs list of deceased.
After scrutinising the gazetted lists, July Memorial Foundation officials say they have written to the government to remove the names of 19 deceased from the Health Ministryโs MIS list. If investigated properly, another 1,000-1,500 fake injuries could be detected, they told the media recently.
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