Bangladeshi ex-PM demands accountability for deadly protests UN was also urged to investigate cases of killings

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has issued her first statement since stepping down, calling for the identification and punishment of those responsible for the killings and vandalism during the protests that took place in the country in July and early August.

The statement was shared on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) by her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

"Since last July, many lives have been lost due to vandalism, arson, and violence in the name of agitation. Students, teachers, police officers, women police officers, journalists, cultural figures, workers, leaders of the Awami League party and its affiliated organisations, as well as passersby and employees of various institutions, have been killed in terrorist attacks," she stated, expressing condolences to those who have suffered the loss of loved ones. "I demand that those involved in these killings and acts of vandalism be found, and the guilty be identified and punished," Sheikh Hasina added.

She also remarked that Bangladesh, which had attained the status of a developing country, is now "in ruins," and the memory of her father, the first president of Bangladesh, Mujibur Rahman, has been dishonoured.

"I seek justice from my fellow citizens," she concluded.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) officially requested the United Nations to conduct an international investigation into the killings that occurred during student protests.

Representatives of the party submitted a formal letter to the UN.

One of the party leaders, Amir Hasru Mahmood Chowdhury, told reporters that the request is for "an impartial and independent international investigation into the killings of Bangladeshi citizens."

"We strongly urge the UN to uncover the mass killings and atrocities that have tarnished Bangladesh's political history. To cleanse the country of this stain of brutality ordered by the government, these actions must be exposed both domestically and internationally. No one should dare to kill the people of this country or seize power by force again," he said.

He also mentioned that party members have "strongly urged the interim government to allow the UN to conduct this investigation." "At this critical juncture, such an investigation is what the country needs," they believe.