3,000 extrajudicial killings in last 10 years: BNP

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today said around 3,000 people were subjected to extrajudicial killing in the hands of law enforcement agencies across the country --from January 2009 to December 2019.

Apart from this, around 134 people met the same fate between June 2020 and now -- most of them, leaders and activists of the opposition party, Fakhrul said while addressing a virtual press conference.

Over the last 10 years, the number of custodial deaths was around 601, while 7,806 women were raped, 1,934 children were abused and of them 18 were killed, the BNP leader said.

At the same time, over one lakh cases were filed against leaders and activists of BNP across the country, Fakhrul said at the press conference.

"These indicate that the country has been turned into a valley of death and executioners' stage," the BNP leader said.

About ex-army major Sinha Md Rashed Khankilling, Fakhrul said protests have erupted across the country against such violent incidents.

"We want justice for Sinha. The trials of all extrajudicial killings will be held on the soil of the country… we're hopeful," he said.

Claiming that extrajudicial killing contradicts the spirit of the Liberation War and the constitution, Fakhrul said such killing, abduction, enforced disappearance and acts of repression against political opponents and dissenting voices can be considered "crimes against humanity".

"The country is marching towards a dysfunctional state. We want to end this situation," he said.

He said many international organisations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have made many reports against extrajudicial killing but the government is not paying heed to the matter.