Bangladesh’s Awami League has strongly denounced the killings of its Chhatra League and Jubo League leaders and activists, accusing their bodies of being thrown into the Turag River in Dhaka. The party expressed distress over the escalating attacks on its members, which began during the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government and have persisted under the current Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) administration. The Awami League highlighted the tragic recovery of decomposed bodies from the Turag River, emphasizing the need for a secure environment for political activists.
The Awami League asserted that the victims were targeted due to their political affiliations within the party’s student and youth wings. It questioned the right of political activists to lead normal and secure lives, emphasizing that a dead body should not carry a political identity. The party lamented the indiscriminate killings of its leaders and activists over the past two years, attributing the situation to the unsafe environment prevailing in the country.
According to the Awami League, the killings have instilled fear among ordinary citizens, with over 600 people reportedly killed within the first 100 days of the new government’s tenure. The party criticized the pervasive violence in Bangladesh, labeling it as a consequence of poor governance and lawlessness. It decried the escalating incidents of murder, rape, theft, and attacks on families, attributing these acts to the breakdown of justice and societal values.
An international human rights organization, Justice Makers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), condemned the killings of Awami League activists and called for an independent inquiry led by a judge of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. The organization emphasized the need for accountability and justice for the alleged human rights violations, urging the government to fulfill its constitutional and international obligations.
