Dhaka, July 10 (IANS) Bangladesh’s Awami League party on Thursday raised alarm over a report by an international media outlet based on an alleged leaked audio recording of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, describing it as “false and distorted.”
International media outlet, BBC, on Wednesday, reported that Hasina had allegedly ordered the use of “lethal force” against the July protest demonstrators, as per an alleged leaked audio of the former Bangladeshi Prime Minister.
The Awami League expressed “deep concern over the unfortunate, unexpected, and unimaginable broadcast of a false and distorted report concerning the Prime Minister, daughter of Bangabandhu and Awami League President, Sheikh Hasina,” by the BBC in a report, which the party said was “based solely on a baseless 18-second so-called audio clip.”
“Against the backdrop of ongoing human rights violations in Bangladesh under the illegitimate, fascist regime of Yunus, the BBC World Service recently aired a 35-minute report presented as part of an investigative journalism piece. However, the report deliberately and irrelevantly included an unverified audio clip allegedly involving Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in which it is implied that she approved the use of lethal force against protesters,” the statement added.
According to Hasina’s party, the report lacks neutrality and objectivity and clearly “demonstrates bias,” adding that the “so-called audio clip has no identifiable recipient.”
“If the audio were genuine, there would have been a specific recipient. This clip has been artificially generated using artificial intelligence with the clear intent of defaming Sheikh Hasina, in collusion with political opponents of the current government and the Awami League. Even the forensic audio firm that the BBC claimed to have consulted could not confirm its authenticity with full certainty. Moreover, the report fails to provide any counter-narrative or perspective from the Prime Minister’s side,” the party noted.
The Awami League asserted that the report relied on information sourced from law enforcement agencies and prosecutors known to be “loyal” to the Yunus regime, some of whom have a history of “defending war criminals under the guise of humanitarianism.”
Highlighting last year’s student movement demanding quota reform, the party stated that the Awami League government was carefully observing the situation and considering the students’ demands.
However, it stated that both domestic and foreign anti-Bangladesh groups “wove a web of conspiracy” around the movement, and plans were made to incite “terror and destruction” under the guise of the protests.
The Awami League mentioned that “Pakistan-backed extremist communal groups and terrorist networks” began orchestrating violence across the country, especially in the capital, Dhaka.
“Intelligence sources indicated that these groups planned coordinated attacks and arson on key national installations, government buildings, and offices. Attacks on key infrastructure points (KIPs), jailbreaks, assassinations, and the extraction of high-profile terrorists from custody were planned — and eventually, many of these events did occur. These extremist and terrorist groups essentially declared war on the state, attempting to endanger the sovereignty of Bangladesh. The BBC report completely ignores these realities,” said the party.
The Awami League stressed that during the July–August protests, attacks on police, over 450 police stations, looting of arms, jailbreaks, and multiple fatalities occurred, “all of which are left unmentioned in the BBC report.”
It further stated that even after Sheikh Hasina left the country, the protests continued, proving that “attributing the violence solely to her directives is completely illogical.”
“In one of BBC Bangla’s own video reports, a leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir — an internationally designated terrorist organisation — admitted that they had infiltrated the protests in the guise of general students. This supports Sheikh Hasina’s assertion that terrorist groups were involved in the violence. Yet this fact is absent in the new report,” the party added.
Concluding the statement, the Awami League emphasised that the BBC’s report, the selection of a “fabricated audio clip,” and the “biased presentation of information” reflect a clear intent and violate the core principles of independent journalism.
“The illegitimate, fascist regime of Yunus has deliberately prepared this narrative as a weapon to serve its political interests. We had hoped that a globally respected institution like the BBC would not fall into the trap set by such malicious forces. Sadly, this is not the case,” the Awami League added.
–IANS
int/scor/sd
