U.N. Report Confirms Bangladesh Protest Suppression as Potential Crime Against Humanity

A U.N. investigation into the violent response of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to student-led protests in Bangladesh has uncovered alarming evidence of human rights abuses, with a death toll exceeding 1,400. The report suggests that the actions could constitute crimes against humanity, highlighting the complicity of high-ranking officials.

The brutal suppression of student-led protests in Bangladesh last year, perpetrated by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, may have resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 individuals, a figure significantly higher than earlier assessments, according to a recently released U.N. inquiry. The U.N. fact-finding mission detailed how Hasina's administration responded violently to the unrest, which ultimately led to the end of her 15-year term.

This response involved extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, and systemic torture, according to the U.N. report. “The testimonies and evidence we gathered depict a horrific landscape of state violence that may equate to serious breaches of international law,” stated Volker Türk, the U.N. human rights chief.

Türk noted that the former government was not only aware of these events but was actively involved in perpetrating these violations, which included torture, assaults on minors, and sexual violence against women. Following the backlash from the protests, Hasina fled to India in August 2024, where she has since attempted to influence Bangladeshi politics from afar, complicating efforts by the interim government to re-establish democracy in the country.