Bangladeshi diaspora in UK rallies against persecution, rights violations

London, Oct 31 (PTI) Members of the British Bangladeshi diaspora have called on international organisations to act against what they fear are widespread constitutional and human rights violations unfolding in Bangladesh, under the interim administration led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.

At a media briefing in London on Thursday, UK-based solicitor Sayed Zaynal Abedin said he had undertaken in-depth analysis along with fellow legal experts and concerned British Bangladeshis to highlight that the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICT-BD) has been “repurposed as a political weapon” to target Opposition leaders, journalists, and minority communities.

He also called upon India to help restore democracy in Bangladesh, given its history of supporting the country’s independence in 1971.

“India and Indian people have always been supportive of a democratic Bangladesh, which upholds human rights and stands against atrocities. We therefore hope and expect the same continued support from India,” Abedin told PTI.

The lawyer alleged that the current administration’s actions breach Bangladesh’s Constitution, international law, and fundamental principles of natural justice as he shared details of a formal petition to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee calling for the revocation of Yunus’ 2006 win.

“Since August last year, my country has been going through one of the darkest times in its history. After the unconstitutional removal of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, power was taken over by Dr Muhammad Yunus, supported by radical Islamist groups,” Abedin told reporters.

“This was not an election. It was not democracy. It was a takeover by way of more violence, and after that, what we saw, what always follows when the rule of law breaks down, unprecedented atrocities, violence, fear and mass arrests.

“At the centre of this tragedy is something called the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh, or ICT-BD, which was originally created to deliver justice for the victims of the 1971 Liberation War… that same tribunal has been turned into a political weapon and is being used to silence the pro-independence secular voices,” he said.

Stressing that his diaspora-led efforts are not affiliated with any political organisation, Abedin said the focus was on raising human rights concerns on the world stage and to condemn extremist voices which could soon spill over outside Bangladesh.

“When radical extremists use courts and laws as a disguise for repression, it's not a local issue anymore. It becomes a global concern, because when you legitimise extremism in one part of the world, it emboldens, empowers extremists everywhere… The UK has one of the largest Bangladeshi communities outside South Asia. So, what happens in Dhaka today will echo in London, Birmingham and Manchester tomorrow,” he added.

The event comes a week after a barrister from London’s Doughty Street Chambers, Steven Powles, revealed that he had filed an Article 15 Communication with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), headquartered at The Hague in the Netherlands, on behalf of Hasina’s Awami League party.

It calls on the prosecutor to initiate an investigation into “retaliatory violence, amounting to crimes within the court’s jurisdiction”, committed against party officials and others perceived to be associated with Hasina’s former government in the aftermath of protests in Bangladesh last year.

It led to the deposed 78-year-old leader fleeing the country, believed to be in hiding in India ever since.

“The Communication states that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the alleged crimes set out amount to the crimes against humanity of murder, imprisonment and persecution, warranting the initiation of an investigation by the Prosecutor,” the Chambers said in a statement.

“The Communication is supported by witness testimony (accompanied by video evidence) which detail brutal killings,” it notes.

Article 15 of ICC’s Rome Statute, to which Bangladesh is a signatory, gives the Office of the Prosecutor the power to initiate an investigation based on information it receives about crimes within the court's jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, in Dhaka, Yunus said this week that he fears forces "from home and abroad" will attempt to thwart planned general elections in February 2026 over Awami League being debarred from contesting. PTI AK GRS GRS