Arrested too killed: within the People's Republic of Bangladesh prime number minister’s state of war on drugs
DHAKA (Reuters) - People's Republic of Bangladesh police pull arrested Riazul Islam equally he was walking habitation from his in-laws’ house. At 3:15 a.m., he was shot dead inwards a sandy champaign beside a laid upwardly of railroad tracks northward of Dhaka. Police say he was killed inwards a gunfight amongst other drug dealers, too they recovered twenty kg of marijuana from the site. His parents say the officers extorted coin from them too and then killed him. “I knew my boy was inwards police pull custody. All suddenly my boy was dead. I couldn’t believe it. The police pull took coin too they yet killed him,” said his mother, Rina Begum. Bangladesh is the newest frontline inwards state-backed drug crackdowns inwards Asia, too Islam is 1 of to a greater extent than than 200 people shot dead past times police pull inwards People's Republic of Bangladesh since May, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the campaign.
Critics say the crackdown reflects Hasina’s increasingly authoritarian dominion ahead of a full general election, due past times December. That was also shown inwards its response to recent pupil demonstrations over route traffic deaths, including the utilisation of security bullets too the arrest of a prominent photographer.
Hasina emphasized that the police pull too word agencies would similar a shot tackle the drug employment inwards the same tough agency they had countered tearing extremism inwards recent years.
Such campaigns tin locomote pop amongst voters equally has been shown past times President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody drug state of war inwards the Philippines.
Hasina’s run did non response to questions well-nigh whether the drugs receive was a populist ploy.
The bodies appeared chop-chop later Hasina’s pronouncement. And, simply similar the Philippines, the killings appeared to follow a script: suspects died inwards “gunfights”, typically at night, too weapons too drugs were constitute nearby.
In to a greater extent than than a tertiary of the 211 killings recorded past times Dhaka-based human rights grouping Odhikar since mid-May, the suspects were arrested earlier they were killed.
The police pull are overseen past times Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, who denied the police pull were executing suspects.
“Our law enforcement people don’t kill, they don’t execute anyone. It is impossible. If they produce hence they volition locomote fired at that moment,” he told Reuters. “It is non a lawless country.”
After Islam was arrested, according to the police pull report, officers took the “top terror” of the neighborhood to the champaign beside the railroad tracks to depict inwards too arrest other drug dealers. The other dealers “sensed” the officers’ presence too began firing randomly, too “to salvage life too regime property”, the officers fired back.
Police detain a man, blood brother of an alleged drug dealer Farhad Hossain Babu, during an anti drug raid inwards Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 4, 2018. Picture taken June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Salahuddin Ahmed
“Roni [Islam] was shot too roughshod down. He died on the spot,” according to the report, which said 2 officers were wounded.
Islam’s autopsy report, read to Reuters past times a infirmary official, noted that a unmarried bullet entered his caput close his left ear too exited close his right. Each of the 2 officers were treated for small-scale areas of tenderness too swelling on 1 of their hands, according to records at around other hospital.
None of the vi witnesses inwards the police pull study saw Islam die, they told Reuters.
One of the six, handyman Mohammad Bappy, who lives at the border of the champaign where Islam was shot, snapped photos of Islam’s dead body. One of the pictures shows blood on the soil beneath Islam’s head.
“There was no gun,” he said. “If in that place had been a gunfight nosotros would receive got heard lots of firing from 2 sides. That didn’t happen.”
Kamal Hossain, the officeholder inwards accuse of the operation, said drug utilisation leads to criminal offense too arrests don’t work.
“They come upwardly out on bail too they produce the same thing, selling too using drugs,” he said. “Every drug dealer should locomote killed. Then drugs tin locomote controlled.”
LITTLE DATA
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, USA ambassador to People's Republic of Bangladesh too the European Union receive got all expressed employment organization well-nigh the killings of drug suspects inwards Bangladesh.
After a regime official inwards the southern metropolis of Teknaf was gunned downwards past times Rapid Action Battalion police pull inwards May, the state-funded National Human Rights Commission sent a alphabetic quality to the ministry building inwards accuse of the police pull to remind it of human rights.
But Hasina pressed on.
“Drugs destroy a country, a acre too a family,” she told parliament inwards June. “We volition locomote along the drive, no affair who says what.”
Most of the killings took house inwards May, when in that place were 129 equally the receive began, but too then dropped to 38 inwards June earlier picking upwardly to 44 inwards July.
Drugs receive got long been a employment organization for the People's Republic of Bangladesh government, which bans consumption of alcohol past times Muslims, who brand upwardly the vast bulk of the population.
But it’s non clear how much drug utilisation has grown or fifty-fifty how many people utilisation drugs. Asked for figures, Bangladesh’s narcotics deputy word master copy said in that place were none.
“We receive got no regime statistics or non-government statistics well-nigh users,” Nazrul Islam Sikder said, adding: “But nosotros gauge seven to viii million.”
Drug seizures information from the Department of Narcotics Control suggests the drug merchandise has grown, but much of the growth happened 3 years ago, long earlier Hasina launched the crackdown. The information shows a dramatic growth inwards methamphetamine or “yaba” pill seizures get-go inwards 2015.
No 1 believes the official accounts of the killings, said Rashid Alam, a 50-year-old managing director of a garment mill close the champaign where Islam was shot, but he is to a greater extent than concerned well-nigh the scourge of drugs utilisation for communities.
“We sympathise he is a drug dealer too the police pull shot him,” he said. “That sort of decease is okay. Good job, really.”
Critics of Hasina say the crackdown is meant to demo voters she is responding to pop concerns too to smasher fearfulness inwards political opponents ahead of the election. According to media reports, around of those killed were activists of the opposition People's Republic of Bangladesh National Party.
For Ashrafuzzaman Zaman, liaison officeholder of the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission, the politics of the drug crackdown are clear.
“You kill 200 people too you lot brand 150 1000000 afraid: today or tomorrow you lot tin also locomote 1 of them. That is the message the regime is giving to the people,” he said.
Hasina’s run did non response to the allegations from her critics.
But Home Minister Khan denied the receive was a encompass to target opposition politicians, too said no drug offender is treated differently from another.
“His identity is solely equally a criminal,” he said. “Even if he has a link amongst the ruling party, he volition non locomote spared.”
Buat lebih berguna, kongsi:
