Amnesty Secretary General’s Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard has written an open letter to the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina regarding the death toll in the clashes surrounding the quota reform movement. The letter was published on Amnesty’s website on Tuesday.
“I am writing to you with deep concern over the recent violent crackdown on the quota reform movement in Bangladesh,” Callamard wrote at the beginning of the letter. I call on you to take urgent and decisive action to end the violence, ensure justice and ensure accountability for the deaths of over 200 people during the protests.
Callamard wrote in the letter, Bangladesh’s home minister said in a press briefing on July 28 that 147 people were killed in the violence. However, according to private sources such as Prothom Alo, at least 211 people died in the violence. It became one of the deadliest protest crackdowns in Bangladesh’s history. RAB, BGB and Army have been deployed across the country to quell the protests. The high death toll has become a sad chapter in the Bangladeshi authorities’ extreme intolerance of protests and dissent. The use of extrajudicial force, including the use of lethal weapons against protesters, demonstrated the authorities’ callous disregard for people’s right to life and the abject failure of law enforcement officials to comply with their obligations under domestic and international human rights law.
Amnesty International has observed and documented serious human rights violations by the authorities in controlling protests over the past 10 days. In two separate incidents, Amnesty International verified evidence of extrajudicial force, extrajudicial use of lethal and less lethal weapons against student protesters during the six-day communication restriction (internet shutdown).
Callamard wrote, “We have seen the illegal use of overhead fire by law enforcement on protesting students, the dangerous use of tear gas when students are in confined spaces, and the unrestrained use of lethal firearms such as AK-style assault rifles.” Amnesty also found that Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the ruling party’s student body, used violence against unarmed and peaceful protesters at Dhaka University. Later they also attacked the students who were undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Amidst this protest, the people of Bangladesh have faced the issue of shutting down the internet across the country since the evening of July 18. Mobile internet was temporarily interrupted across the country before the internet was shut down completely. After that the use of social media was stopped in some areas. On July 19, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) issued Section 144 banning all kinds of processions and gatherings in the capital.
Last Friday, July 19, at midnight, the police were ordered to shoot on sight and a curfew was imposed. The country-wide internet shutdown, nationwide curfew, shoot-on-sight order and ban on all forms of protests in Dhaka will be marked as an unprecedented crackdown on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Such restrictions are a violation of Bangladesh’s obligations as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We learned that internet returned to the country after six days on July 23 and curfew was relaxed on July 24. And on July 28, mobile internet came back. However, social media is still closed.
Callamard wrote in his letter, “According to media reports, more than 10,000 people have been arrested, most of whom are opposition party leaders, activists, activists, students and protest participants.” Apart from this, more than 213,000 people have been charged with 200 cases in the capital alone. Most of these accused are unknown. The trick of not naming anyone in an FIR gives law enforcement an opportunity to arrest anyone they want. Mass arrests and arbitrary detention of student protesters perpetuated the climate of fear.
It is noteworthy that such a lethal crackdown on student protests has taken place against a broader backdrop of growing intolerance and repression of dissent in Bangladesh. Repressive legislation such as the Digital Security Act 2018, which later became the Cyber Security Act 2023. The Act targets journalists, human rights activists and activists for dissenting or criticizing the government. On behalf of Amnesty International and various organizations of the United Nations, the Bangladesh government is urged to respect the obligations under international law, to protect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and to adopt a method of upholding human rights in controlling protests. Despite this, the Bangladeshi government has repeatedly shown disinterest in upholding international human rights obligations and has failed to take any meaningful steps to end the violence.
In this context, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, has called on the Bangladesh government to take some steps in the letter. These include immediate lifting of curfews in their entirety, opening up of social media, orders to fire on sight during future protests and assurances that the internet will not be shut down or other fundamental rights violated.
Immediate unconditional release of those arrested while peacefully protesting, orders to law enforcement agencies to exercise restraint, refrain from using unnecessary or excessive force on protesters and take steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Working in cooperation with the United Nations to conduct a thorough, effective, independent and impartial investigation into the casualties during the suppression of protests. Ensuring the accountability of those responsible for the extra-legal use of force in this incident. Adequate compensation to victims and survivors of the incident.
Apart from this, ensure the protection of the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in accordance with the Constitution of Bangladesh and international standards on human rights and abolish the legal obstacles in this regard, such as the Cyber Security Act and Article 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Callamard wrote at the end of his letter, compliance with the above obligations could help restore public confidence in the rule of law and demonstrate Bangladesh’s commitment to human rights on the international stage. He wrote, the world is watching and it is imperative that the human rights of the people of Bangladesh are protected.
