A United Nations fact-finding report has accused former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of directly ordering security forces to kill protesters and hide their bodies during the July 2024 uprising.
The report, released by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), details serious human rights violations and systematic repression carried out by state forces under the direct command of the highest political leadership.
The report, titled Human Rights Violations and Abuses related to the Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh, outlines a disturbing pattern of state-sanctioned violence, which was aimed at quelling mass protests that eventually led to the collapse of Hasina’s government. It states that on July 18, 2024, then-Home Affairs Minister convened a meeting of senior security officials, including the heads of the Police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and intelligence agencies. During this meeting, the minister instructed the BGB commander to use lethal force more readily against protesters.
According to senior officials who testified to OHCHR, the following day, Prime Minister Hasina herself ordered security forces to kill protesters and dispose of their bodies to suppress the movement. The report explicitly quotes her as directing authorities to “arrest the ringleaders of the protests, the troublemakers, kill them and hide their bodies.”
The UN report states that Bangladesh’s security forces engaged in widespread extrajudicial killings as part of a coordinated campaign of repression. It highlights the involvement of multiple intelligence and law enforcement agencies, including the Directorate-General of Armed Forces Intelligence (DGFI), National Security Intelligence (NSI), and the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC), in these violations.
Security forces reportedly fired military rifles and shotguns loaded with metal pellets at protesters, while also resorting to arbitrary detentions and torture to extract confessions. The report documents that the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit (CTTC) and the Detective Branch of police abducted student leaders and coerced them into renouncing the protests. Furthermore, detained individuals, including children, were subjected to mistreatment in secret detention facilities.
The intelligence agencies also allegedly obstructed life-saving medical care, arresting injured protesters from hospitals and intimidating medical staff. Despite these blatant abuses, prosecutorial authorities and the judiciary failed to take meaningful action against the perpetrators, the report states.
According to the UN findings, the NTMC and Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission implemented targeted internet shutdowns to prevent protesters from organizing and to curb the dissemination of information about state violence. Media outlets were pressured by DGFI, NSI, and RAB not to report fully on the protests or their violent suppression, while victims and their families faced threats and intimidation.
Despite internal concerns raised by some officials, including reports to Hasina and her cabinet warning about excessive use of force, no meaningful steps were taken to prevent or mitigate the violence. The UN report concludes that these violations were not isolated incidents but rather part of an orchestrated strategy to dismantle the uprising through brutal repression.
Following the fall of Hasina’s government, the newly formed interim administration has pledged to ensure accountability for these serious human rights violations. According to the UN report, the interim government has initiated legal proceedings against senior officials implicated in the crackdown. However, structural deficiencies within the justice system, continued intimidation by security personnel still in positions of power, and longstanding police malpractices remain obstacles to justice.
In response to the UN’s findings, the interim government released a statement today expressing gratitude to OHCHR for conducting the most comprehensive independent investigation into the events that led to the end of Hasina’s rule. The statement reiterated the government’s commitment to justice and accountability, though significant challenges remain in prosecuting those responsible for the widespread abuses.
As Bangladesh moves forward, the world watches closely to see if those responsible for these atrocities will face justice, or if impunity will once again prevail.
