Day After UN Report, BNP Says It Expects India to Repatriate Former PM Hasina

PTI, DHAKA, FEB 13, 2025: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, on Thursday expressed its expectation that India would repatriate its rival Sheikh Hasina to stand trial. This comes in the wake of a UN fact-finding report that claimed Hasina’s ousted regime attempted to hold onto power through systematic attacks and killings of protesters last year.

Hasina’s 16-year-long rule under the Awami League (AL) regime was overthrown during a student-led uprising on August 5, 2024, when she secretly fled Bangladesh for India. BNP’s Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, during a press conference, stated that the UN report had confirmed that mass killings, human rights violations, and the destruction of democracy and institutions were carried out under Hasina's orders. Alamgir called Hasina “a fascist who has tortured, persecuted, and killed the people of this country.”

Alamgir thanked the UN fact-finding committee for releasing the report, stating, “It correctly states that the killings were carried out as per the orders of a particular individual, fascist Hasina.” He went on to call upon the Indian government to immediately return Hasina and her accomplices to Bangladesh and hand her over for trial.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released the Fact-Finding Report titled ‘Human Rights Violations and Abuses Related to the Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh.’ According to the report, Hasina’s former government, security and intelligence services, along with violent elements associated with the Awami League, systematically engaged in a range of serious human rights violations during the student-led protests last year.

The report further stated that following the downfall of the Hasina government, widespread attacks were reported against Hindu homes, businesses, and places of worship, particularly in areas such as Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, and Dinajpur, as well as other places including Sylhet, Khulna, and Rangpur. These attacks were especially prevalent in regions perceived to be sympathetic to the Awami League, with Hindus stereotypically associated with the political faction.

The UN report also documents that Hasina’s government cracked down on protesters, leading to "hundreds of extrajudicial killings." Alamgir expressed his party's relief that the truth about these ruthless incidents had been uncovered through the UN report. He added that while the UN's statements are widely believed, political parties' assertions are often met with reluctance.

Bangladesh's interim government under Muhammad Yunus has also welcomed the report. Dhaka had officially requested Hasina's extradition, which New Delhi acknowledged, but has not elaborated further on the matter.

Hasina has been accused of numerous charges, including "crimes against humanity," mass murders, enforced disappearances, and corruption during her rule, particularly during the student movements in July and August 2024. The OHCHR report estimates that “as many as 1,400 people may have been killed” over 45 days, with the vast majority of victims shot by Bangladesh’s security forces. Children made up 12 to 13 percent of those killed.

Volker Turk, the UN rights chief, while releasing the report, stated that the office “found reasonable grounds to believe” that the top echelons of the previous government were aware of, and were involved in, the killings. While addressing the violence after Hasina's ouster, Turk noted that his office had examined the situation only up to mid-August. However, the report did note “lynchings and other serious retaliatory violence” against police and Awami League officials or supporters after Hasina’s fall.

The report also includes details from Awami League's records of killings, including 144 officials and members of the Awami League and its affiliated organizations, who were killed during attacks between July 1 and August 15, 2024.

While the report mentioned localized efforts by opposition groups like BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and student organizations to protect Hindu community properties, it also noted that some members of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami bore responsibility for human rights abuses during revenge attacks.