Bangladesh says UN to probe 'atrocities' committed during unrest
Toppled premier Sheikh Hasina's government was accused of many such abuses during her 15 years in power, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killing of political opponents.
Anti-quota protesters hold placards during a demonstration on Dhaka University campus in Dhaka on 16 July 2024. At least five demonstrators were killed in Bangladesh on 16 July during violent clashes between rival student groups over quotas for coveted government jobs, police said, a day after more than 400 others were injured. Picture: AFP
DHAKA - A United Nations team will travel to Bangladesh to investigate "atrocities" committed during the unrest that toppled premier Sheikh Hasina last week, the country's interim government said in a statement Thursday.
"The United Nations is sending a UN fact finding team next week to probe atrocities committed during the Student Revolution in July and early this month," the statement said.
It added that the move had been discussed between UN human rights chief Volker Turk and interim Bangladeshi leader Muhammad Yunus during a phone call late Wednesday.
The statement said the fact-finding mission would be tasked with investigating "widespread human rights abuses".
Hasina's government was accused of many such abuses during her 15 years in power, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killing of political opponents.
She fled by helicopter to India -- where she remains -- 10 days ago as student-led protests flooded Dhaka's streets in a dramatic end to her iron-fisted rule.