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In addition to those killed by the former government\u2019s security and intelligence services alongside Awami League party associates, the OHCHR report into the alleged crimes indicated that thousands were injured, including one youngster who was shot in the hand at point-blank range for throwing stones<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are reasonable grounds to believe that officials of the former government, its security and intelligence apparatus, together with violent elements associated with the former ruling party, committed serious and systematic human rights violations,\u201d the High Commissioner for Human Rights said.<\/p>\n Speaking in Geneva, Mr. T\u00fcrk highlighted that some of the gravest violations detailed in the report may constitute international crimes that could be heard by the International Criminal Court (ICC)<\/strong>, as Bangladesh is a State party to the Rome Statute which created the tribunal in The Hague. The ICC\u2019s foundational Statute gives it jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression (following an amendment in 2010).<\/p>\n Read our ICC explainer here.<\/p>\n Alleged crimes in Bangladesh against the student-led protest included \u201chundreds of extrajudicial killings, extensive arbitrary arrest and detention and torture, and ill treatment, including of children, as well as gender based violence\u201d, the UN rights chief said.<\/p>\n Furthermore, these violations \u201cwere carried out with the knowledge, coordination and direction of the former political leadership and senior security officials, with a specific goal of suppressing the protests and keep the former government\u2019s grip on power\u201d.<\/p>\n According to the OHCHR report, as many as 12 to 13 per cent of those killed were children. Bangladesh Police also reported that 44 of its officers were killed between 1 July and 15 August 2024.<\/p>\n Last summer\u2019s protests that led Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down after 15 years in power were triggered by the High Court\u2019s decision to reinstate a deeply unpopular quota system in public service jobs. But broader grievances were already entrenched, arising from \u201cdestructive and corrupt politics and governance\u201d that had entrenched inequalities, the UN human rights office report maintained.<\/p>\n \u201cI went to one of the hospitals in in Bangladesh when I visited, and I could talk to some of the survivors and some of them will be disabled for their lives. Especially young people\u2026some of them were children,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>Mr. T\u00fcrk told journalists in Geneva, recounting his visit to Dhaka in September.<\/p>\n \u201cThe brutal response was a calculated and well-coordinated strategy by the former Government to hold onto power in the face of mass opposition,\u201d insisted UN Human Rights Chief\u00a0Volker\u00a0Turk.<\/p>\nIron grip on power<\/h2>\n
State killings<\/strong><\/h2>\n