Amnesty calls for immediate withdrawal of shooting orders, full accountability on the internet in Bangladesh
Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International's senior director, called on the government to immediately withdraw the shoot-on-sight order, restore full internet across the country and end the use of a special force and paramilitary forces against protesters. In the statement given on the organization's website, he also said that during the curfew, there will be no firing orders and the internet will not be shut down in the future. At the same time, he called for an impartial and impartial investigation into all human rights violations at the hands of security guards. He said that those responsible for this should be brought to full accountability on an urgent basis. The statement issued on July 25 also said that the organization analyzed the violence centered on the quota reform movement in Bangladesh.
It also said that the Bangladesh government continued to use illegal force on ordinary students to suppress the anti-quota movement. Amnesty also mentioned that the government has stopped the internet service for about six days and imposed restrictions on the communication system of the entire country. The international human rights organization has analyzed the situation that has arisen around the quota reform movement. They informed about monitoring the growing situation of the country through various videos and pictures. The agency's Crisis Evidence Lab verified video of three incidents of illegal use of lethal weapons by law enforcement agencies during protests.
After these checks, Amnesty responded. The organization accused the Bangladesh police of illegally using lethal weapons to suppress the movement.
Amnesty International's senior director Muchena also said in the statement that videos and images collected from Bangladesh over the past few days have continued to show horrific images. Mentioning the appalling past human rights record of the Bangladesh government and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Muchena said the police had been deployed to quell the protests. Protesters' rights have also been curtailed in the absence of international monitoring by imposing restrictions on communications and shutting down the Internet.
Amnesty believes that an independent and impartial investigation should be conducted into all human rights violations committed by the security forces, including the exact number of deaths of protesters. Muchena said, for those found responsible in the investigation, all of them should be held accountable and questioned. Besides, he also called for state compensation to the families of those who were injured due to the use of illegal force by the police. It said that on July 18, a video of a protester named Sheikh Ashabul Yamin went viral on social media. He is a student of the Military Institute of Science and Technology. Protesters clashed with police near a bus station in Savar near Dhaka. He was injured and later killed. In the first video, the Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) is being driven along the Dhaka-Aricha highway. Yamin is lying unconscious on top of him. In the second video, an officer is seen trying to lift Yamin's body by the arm.
Another grabbed his leg. His body was horribly thrown from the vehicle. At that time, his body fell and Yamin was hit on the head. In the final phase of the video, two officials from the APC can be seen in full riot gear. They seem to be looking at Yamin's body lying in front of them. Finally, the officials pulled Yamin's body from the ground. Drag it over obstacles in the road. The officials took him to the opposite side where he was standing. APC left Yamin's body on the road. Yameen reportedly died the next day from his injuries. These three videos have been verified by Amnesty International. None of the 12 security officers were seen to proceed with Yameen's treatment. Derrick Ponder, an independent forensic examiner, conducted these tests and found evidence of a wound on Yamin's chest. He told Amnesty that the bullet probably pierced his left side of the chest. That's why he died. Amnesty International considers the shooting of law enforcement officers to be grossly discriminatory.
Another video from July 18 shows BRAC in Dhaka firing tear gas inside the gate very close to the university. These videos have been verified by Amnesty International. Amnesty then said the police action was illegal and an unnecessary use of force. Law enforcement can never fire tear gas into an enclosed space where there is no escape route, where chemical reactions can occur. Local news claimed that at least 30 people were injured by tear gas on BRAC University campus that day.
A video clip has been circulating on social media since July 20. It shows an officer firing an AK-pattern assault rifle at protesters. This seven-second video has been verified by Amnesty International. It was captured in front of a bank on Rampura DIT Road. It can be seen that police and some officers of BGB are standing with APC. One of them is pointing a Chinese Type 56-1 assault rifle at an off-screen target and firing two rounds. The use of firearms in gatherings is not appropriate. These can only be used if the attack threatens death or serious injury.