The interim government should ensure that security forces act with neutrality, and respect the rule of law to prosecute political violence, said the Human Rights Watch (HRW), reports UNB.
The government should also recognise that the right to peaceful assembly and protest, even by supporters of the former authoritarian government, is a fundamental right protected under international law, it said on Thursday.
A United Nations report has found that law enforcement agencies, including the police, border guards, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and intelligence agencies, had engaged in serious human rights violations to contain the protests that in August 2024 led to the ouster of the former 'repressive government' of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
An interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has pledged security sector reform.
However, it has deployed security forces, including the military, for "Operation Devil Hunt," arresting nearly 2,000 people, mostly supporters of Hasina's deposed Awami League government, said the New York-based rights organisation.
"Bangladesh is politically polarised after decades of repression by the Awami League government, but the authorities should not repeat mistakes of the past and should instead ensure impartial rule of law," said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
"As the United Nations has said, the interim government should focus on urgent reforms to the political system and economic governance."
The government should also recognise that the right to peaceful assembly and protest, even by supporters of the former authoritarian government, is a fundamental right protected under international law, the Human Rights Watch said.
The UN report found that the violations included extrajudicial killings, indiscriminate firing, and mass arrests and torture, and it estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed between July 1 and August 15, the vast majority shot by Bangladesh's security forces.
The report described ‘a disturbing picture’ in which ‘accountability and justice are essential for national healing.’
