Bangladesh yesterday said the government has neither given any authority to any law enforcement agency to carry out extrajudicial killings nor does it support such killings.
“The US 2015 Country Report on Human Rights Practices doesn’t not reflect Bangladesh’s real socio-economic and political conditions … it has not been prepared on the basis of facts. I request the US government for reviewing the report,” Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said.
If any agency gets involved in any incident of extrajudicial killing, then the government conducts an investigation and takes punitive action if it is found guilty, Inu said.
The information minister also mentioned that government has already taken action against over 800 Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members. The RAB is accused by human rights organisations of
carrying out such killings.
Referring to militant activities, the minister said the government always shows zero tolerance to terrorist, militant and extremist groups in the country. “The government is not creating any pressure on the media of Bangladesh and they are enjoying more freedom than ever before,” said Inu.
“Our government is ruling the country in a democratic way under the constitution and there’s no scope of shrinking democracy. More importantly, the government never obstructs or creates pressure on the activities of civil society and non-government organisations in our country,” he said.
In its 2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the US claimed that authorities in Bangladesh have failed at times to maintain effective control over security forces.
The report listed extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, the killing of secular bloggers and others by groups espousing extremist views, some restrictions on online speech and the press, early and forced marriage and gender-based violence, and poor working conditions and labour rights as most significant human rights problems in
Bangladesh.