Geneva [Switzerland], October 3 (ANI): Human rights activists and experts from South Asia and Europe expressed grave concern over widespread violations of human rights in Bangladesh under the interim regime of Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus. The remarks came during a side event held on Friday at the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Organised by the Centre for Gender Justice, the discussion, titled 'Violations of Fundamental Human Rights, Rule of Law, and Democracy in Bangladesh,' drew attention to the deteriorating situation in the country following the ousting of elected Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024. A short film screened at the event depicted extrajudicial killings, attacks on religious minorities, and the destruction of temples and Sufi shrines. It also highlighted how radical Islamist groups have openly threatened and lynched political activists linked to the Awami League, while media houses have come under violent attack. The panel featured Professor Md Habibe Millat, President of the Global Center for Democratic Governance (Canada); Paulo Casaca, former Member of the European Parliament and Executive Director of the South Asia Democratic Forum (Belgium); Suhas Chakma, Director of the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (India); Natalia Sineaeva-Pankowska of the NEVER AGAIN Association (Poland); and Chris Blackburn, Founding Editor of Narrative360 (UK).

Speaking to ANI, Professor Millat reported that at least 213 Awami League leaders and activists have been killed since the interim government took power, while historic sites linked to the 1971 Liberation War have been destroyed. He further noted a rise in mob violence, with 637 people killed in lynching incidents, and said 30 members of minority communities had been murdered.

He added that 17 churches were set on fire on Christmas Day 2024.

'Human rights violations in Bangladesh are at the highest level in the last 54 years. All populations, not just minorities, are tortured...Nobody has been spared over the last 14 months. More than 2500 cases of torture have been documented, more than 30 people of the minority community have been killed,' he said.

'As per a report, at least 637 people were killed by mob lynching...At the moment, they are trying to do a fraudulent election...So, Bangladesh needs to get back to democracy, the rule of law and justice. That's what we are fighting for,' he added.

Belgium's Paulo Casaca, former Member of the European Parliament and Executive Director of the South Asia Democratic Forum, described the situation as a 'humanitarian crisis,' alleging that the interim government has fabricated over 50,000 cases in an effort to eliminate democratic forces. 'This is the worst nightmare in Bangladesh. Under such conditions, all elections are a fraud,' he said.

'People thought that it was an idea to change the government, but it was hijacked by hardcore fanatic Islamists who want to destroy the country. They start with the minorities, but they don't stop with the minorities. They go ahead with the bulk of the population. They are a threat to the population in Bangladesh...,' Casaca said.

'For various reasons, people want to protest but what we have seen in Bangladesh is someone who grabbed the power, not to ensure any reform, any democracy but on the contrary, he needed 18 months to turn democratic elections impossible because it is absolutely impossible to hold free and fair elections in a country where the most important party is persecuted the way it is,' he added.

Highlighting the situation of Bangladesh, Casaca said that 'the recent estimation of 15 million internally displaced people - they are just running away to not be murdered or imprisoned or falsely accused...People thought that it was an idea to change the government, but it was hijacked by hardcore, fanatic Islamists who want to destroy the country. They start with the minorities, but they don't stop with the minorities. They go ahead with the bulk of the population. They are a threat to the population in Bangladesh.'

Suhas Chakma called Yunus's leadership 'an act of fraud,' warning that the international community was being misled. 'The priority of this government is to manufacture lies. The human rights situation is rapidly deteriorating,' he said. Natalia Sineaeva-Pankowska said Bangladesh is facing its most severe crisis since independence in 1971, even comparing the current human rights violations to the Holocaust in Europe during World War II. The British political analyst Christopher J Blackburn emphasised that any movement must uphold human rights to be considered legitimate. 'A revolution without protection of human rights is not a revolution,' he said, noting that both minorities and the media in Bangladesh face constant threats. The speakers collectively urged the international community to take urgent action to address what they described as one of the gravest human rights challenges in South Asia today.

Blackburn said that he thinks that 'people in Bangladesh are quite fearful.'

'I think if Muhammad Yunus had made some small reforms and then moved towards the elections, I think people would have been a lot more content. I think what it seems is Muhammad Yunus and the students wanted to vandalise Bangladesh's foundation,' he said.

'On the other hand, there are radical Islamists...These could be creating the next Government in Bangladesh...It's an absolute shame for Bangladesh,' he added.

Barrister Nijhoom Majumder, Bangladeshi political activist from the UK, said, 'Western power has captured indirectly. I always say that what is happening in Bangladesh is a proxy war against India. Target is India and the battlefield is in Bangladesh.'

'Many powers in the world are with us; they know that Bangladesh is becoming an extremist Islamist country. State-sponsored terrorism is being sponsored in Bangladesh. Bangladesh cannot be a battlefield for a proxy war against India, China or any other country,' he added. (ANI)