DHAKA: A United Nations team arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday to discuss with the interim government the process of investigating alleged human rights violations during the recent movement which toppled the government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina earlier this month.

About 300 people, many of them university and college students, were killed during protests that began last month after students agitated against quotas in government jobs. The protests spiralled into demands for ouster of Sheikh Hasina, who was in power since 2009.

An interim government, headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, was sworn in after Hasina fled the country and flew to New Delhi following the student-led uprising.

The UN office in Bangladesh said in a media advisory that the team from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will be in Dhaka from Aug 22 to 29.

“The purpose of this visit is to understand their priorities for assistance in promoting human rights,” said the media advisory, adding that Bangladesh’s interim government had requested the UN to probe the killings during the protests.

“It is important to note that this visit is not an investigation, but rather it will focus on discussing the process for investigating human rights violations in light of the recent violence and unrest.”

Rory Mungoven, chief of the Asia-Pacific region at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, was leading the UN team, which met Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Thursday, according to two Bangladesh foreign ministry officials.

Two journalists arrested

A court in Dhaka remanded in custody two journalists accused of “inciting violence” against student-led protests.

The married couple, Shakil Ahmed and Farzana Rupa, were arrested on Wednesday at the airport in Dhaka as they waited to board a flight to Turkiye. They were accused of “inciting violence”, according to the remand application read in court.

The case against them was brought by the relative of one of the protesters killed in the demonstrations.

Prosecution lawyers said the journalist pair had “brazenly endorsed” Hasina’s government and Awami League party and had used their position to call for violence.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2024