Jurist Amnesty International urges Bangladeshi authorities to immediately protect Hindus, other minority communities

[Dadparvar]

Amnesty International urged Bangladeshi authorities on Wednesday to immediately protect the country’s Hindu and other minority communities amid violence against minority communities.

Amnesty International called for Bangladeshi authorities to conduct impartial and thorough investigations into the mob violence and crimes committed against minority communities, such as the Hindu and Ahmadi communities. The organization stated that the country must ensure culpable individuals are prosecuted in fair and transparent trials. Amnesty International said:

[Bangladesh’s] new interim government must ensure the rights to equality, non-discrimination and bodily integrity of everyone and bring an end to the revenge culture of attacking political opponents that Bangladesh has witnessed in the past. Time and again, incidents of mob violence, disinformation and the failure of the state to protect the minorities and provide access to justice to survivors have continued to destroy the lives of minority communities living in Bangladesh.

Previously, on Tuesday, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called for an investigation into the killings that occurred during the weeks of protests in Bangladesh. Hasina expressed deep sorrow for the lives lost and demanded punishment for those responsible for what she described as “terrorist aggression.” The protests, which began in July over a controversial quota system for government jobs, quickly escalated into a broader movement against Hasina’s administration. The unrest claimed the lives of over 300 people, including students, teachers, police officers and ordinary citizens. As a consequence, Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5, bringing an end to her 15-year rule.

In addition, Bangladesh’s Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan resigned on Saturday following a series of protests in Dhaka, the country’s capital. The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement led the protests, demanding the immediate resignation of the chief justice and the judges of the Appellate Division. Protesters set a 1:00 PM local time deadline on Saturday for the resignations, warning they would take further action if their demands were not met.

Relatedly, India’s Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, a member of the Assam legislative assembly, wrote a letter on October 17, 2021, seeking intervention by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) following a series of violent attacks on the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh during the festival of Durga Puja. Purkayastha wrote, “There are wide-scale reports of vandalism at the pandals during Durgapuja [in Bangladesh] … This has resulted in outrage in India. People here are worried about those staying and facing this kind of situation in the neighboring country.”

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