Debunking the 12 February 2025 OHCHR Report: A Tale of Injustice and Deceit for Bangladesh

The OHCHR report speaks, but its words obscure the truth,

Of violence, corruption, and power misused,

Where justice is but a fleeting ghost.

In July and August of 2024, the nation wept,

As orchestrated bloodshed marred the streets,

Yet the report turns a blind eye to the puppeteers,

And shields the guilty, leaving victims unheard.

The Yunus-Waker regime, a shadow of deceit,

Grants impunity to killers, leaving justice to die,

Aiding those who ravaged the land,

While the cry for truth echoes in vain.

Oh, the betrayal of a report incomplete,

That dances to the tune of tyrants' lies.

Let there be a reckoning, a call to the skies,

For only in truth can the soul of Bangladesh be free.

The report published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on February 12, 2025, casts a critical spotlight on Bangladesh, indicating that the country stands at a pivotal crossroads in its history. However, the analysis presented within this report fails to fully encapsulate the complexities of the situation on the ground, particularly concerning the ongoing and pervasive human rights issues.

At present, Bangladesh faces a range of profound human rights violations, including retaliatory violence, state-sanctioned killings, judicial harassment, and systemic discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities. These violations particularly target Hindu communities, other minority groups, and indigenous peoples. Additionally, gender-based violence, assaults on journalists, and the extensive curtailment of freedom of expression persist unabated. This stark reality contrasts sharply with the Bangladesh of 2010, when, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the country became the first in South Asia to ratify the Treaty establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC), thus affirming its commitment to international justice norms concerning crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes betide in 1971 in Bangladesh when the country’s liberation war was going on  against the evil nexus of Pakistani army, America and China taking the mighty support from India and former Soviet Union.

While the OHCHR report serves as a crucial reminder to the international community about the deteriorating human rights conditions in Bangladesh, it fails to adequately address the deeper political and social dynamics that have contributed to these violations. In particular, it neglects to hold accountable the government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Waker-uz-Zaman, a government widely believed as a puppet regime propped up by a coalition of political actors, including the CIA, ISI, Yunus-Waker, Jamaat-e-Islami, the BNP, and various extremist Islamist groups. This administration’s unlawful, unconstitutional seizure of power on August 8, 2024, and its violent actions against the Bangladeshi people, have been largely shifted onto the shoulders of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whohas been forcefully, illegally, unlawfully and unconstitutionally deposed from power on 5 August 2024 in Bangladesh and sent her with full force to live in exile in India.

Furthermore, the OHCHR report fails to address the entrenched corruption and systemic failures within the Yunus-Waker administration, which has been accused of deep complicity in these abuses. As a senior citizen of Bangladesh, a lifelong apolitical figure, and a frontline freedom fighter during the 1971 War of Liberation to establish Bangladesh, I categorically reject the findings of the OHCHR report, denouncing its flawed investigative processes and inherent biases.

The OHCHR’s findings have largely been shaped by information selectively provided by the Yunus-Waker government, the Jamaat-e-Islami, the BNP, and their extremist allies—groups directly involved in the July-August 2024 massacres and the broader effort to unseat Prime Minister Hasina. Notably, the OHCHR failed to consult impartial human rights organizations or directly interview the families of the victims, despite my repeated calls via my email communications to them for such actions. Had they done so, I am confident the report would have presented a more balanced and truthful account of the situation.

It is therefore imperative that a fresh, impartial investigation be conducted into the events surrounding the July-August 2024 protests and the concerted conspiracy to overthrow the government. Such an investigation must rigorously document the organized killings, unlawful detentions, and widespread attacks on religious and ethnic minorities. It must also address the severe suppression of media freedom and the alarming rise of Islamist radicalization within Bangladesh’s political and cultural spheres.

These critical issues, which are reported daily by international media, have been largely overlooked in the OHCHR report. Also, its failure to address events occurring after August 15, 2024, highlights its disconnect from the immediate and pressing concerns of the Bangladeshi populace.

The OHCHR itself acknowledges the limitations of its mandate and its inability to present sufficient concrete evidence to substantiate its allegations of human rights violations against the Awami League that would meet the criteria for a criminal court. In light of this, the Awami League categorically rejects the report’s unfounded claims that party leaders, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, directly ordered or were complicit in the use of lethal force against civilians or the mistreatment of detainees. These allegations are wholly without merit and are based on biased information provided by the interim government, which has selectively withheld crucial documents that would have exonerated the Awami League and implicated the interim government’s officials.

One glaring example of the OHCHR’s oversight is its claim that the Awami League government failed to take action against law enforcement misconduct that allegedly led to violence and deaths in late July 2024. In fact, the Awami League government swiftly established a commission of inquiry in early August 2024, a commission that was later disbanded under the pressure of Dr. Yunus’s administration. The Awami League also invited the United Nations to observe the situation on the ground, demonstrating its commitment to transparency and accountability. Unfortunately, the OHCHR appears to have been misled by malevolent forces intent on obfuscating the truth and distorting the facts.

The directive issued by the Bangladesh Ministry of Home Affairs in October 2024, under the Yunus-Waker government, which barred law enforcement from prosecuting those involved in the July-August 2024 unrest, has further exacerbated the situation. This action, which grants immunity to the perpetrators of violence, is a clear attempt to protect the architects of the violence and preserve the status quo of the interim government.

Dr. Yunus’s unconstitutionally seized government has thus far demonstrated a stark disregard for the rule of law and justice. By granting immunity to those responsible for the killings, arson, and looting, the Yunus-Waker administration has effectively shielded the criminals from prosecution. This action mirrors the indemnity ordinance issued by the military regime in 1975, which protected the killers of the nation’s founding father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Such actions are wholly unacceptable and undermine the principles of justice and accountability.

Dr. Yunus’s actions after assuming power reveal a clear intention to obstruct justice. He has suspended investigations into the atrocities committed during the July-August 2024 unrest, a move that suggests his reluctance to identify and prosecute those responsible for the violence. Dr. Yunus has also made public statements suggesting that the July unrest was part of a premeditated conspiracy.

While visiting the United States, Dr. Yunus also publicly stated in global media that the July movement was part of a carefully orchestrated plan executed by a mastermind. This admission implies that all the killings during the movement were premeditated. Yunus seeks to protect those who participated in this killing spree, especially those responsible for the mass murders of thousands of civilians and police officers during July-August 2024 and 5August onwards. By granting indemnity, Yunus has pardoned these criminals without any investigation or trial.

It can be veritably pronounced that Khandaker Mushtaq could not protect the killers of August 15, 1975 with indemnity. The people of Bangladesh restored democracy, and the national parliament revoked the indemnity law, bringing the killers of the Father of the Nation to justice. It will not be long before the freedom-loving people of Bangladesh once again restore democracy, revoke Yunus’s indemnity, and bring all the killers, looters, arsonists, and destroyers of the nation’s assets to justice on the soil of Bangladesh.

Now, the puppet government has been trying to protect the murderers, conspirators, and destroyers of the nation’s assets by granting them immunity from prosecution.Unblushing! Unacceptable under any circumstances!!

Referring to the order as a manifestation of Dr Yunus’s intent to obstruct a fair trial, we must categorically say after illegally assuming power, Dr. Yunus suspended the investigation initiated by the Judicial Inquiry Committee. The reason is clear—Yunus does not want the crimes committed between July and August to be investigated. He does not want the criminals to be identified or punished for their involvement in these atrocities.

After Yunus’s unlawful assumption to power in Bangladesh, all convicted violent terrorists and other section of dreaded criminals were set free from the jails according to his own stylus.

All criminal cases lying pending with the courts were dismissed unilaterally without due legal processes and freed all criminals from the jails.

Yunus, on occupying power unlawfully, illegally and unconstitutionally, vauntingly threw away all his pending cases with the courts to the outfall at a far-off grime place. Not only that, he is so self-centred and selfish for his own personal benefits that he showed his index finger to the courts, deliberately waived of his tax payable amount of Tk.661 crores to Bangladesh exchequer and he even showing his red eyes to the court illegally obtained tax holiday for his Grameen Bank up to 2029.

In the face of these actions, it is essential that Bangladesh moves towards a fully independent investigation into the events of July and August 2024. Such an inquiry must be conducted by impartial investigators free from political interference or retaliation. Only through such an investigation can the truth be uncovered, and justice be served for the victims of these heinous crimes.

The OHCHR has made several key recommendations, including the protection of multi-party democracy, the safety of religious and ethnic minorities, and the continuation of economic and social progress. However, none of these goals can be achieved if the incomplete and biased narrative presented in the OHCHR report goes unchallenged. Moreover, the continued rule of an unelected and partisan government undermines any genuine efforts to resolve the crisis.

The law and order in country has perilously been deteriorating in Bangladesh since 5 August 2024 ceaselessly. But Dr. Yunus and his buddies are good for naught. Since his unlawfully occupying the throne of Bangladesh, the country has been bleeding endlessly. Everywhere a dreaded fearsome environment has been existing with no respite.

The international community must not stand idly by as Bangladesh’s political and social fabric unravels further. The people of Bangladesh deserve the right to choose their leaders freely and fairly, without fear of persecution or retribution. It is time for Dr. Yunus and his associates to acknowledge their failures, step down, and allow the people of Bangladesh to restore democracy and justice.

The recent developments in Bangladesh underscore the urgent need for a thorough and impartial investigation into the atrocities of July and August 2024, and the broader political conspiracy to undermine Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government. Only through such an investigation can the true extent of the human rights violations be revealed, and justice be delivered to the victims of this violence.

Authored By: Anwar A. Khan

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