Staff Correspondent

Sixteen noted citizens yesterday demanded justice for the attacks on minority communities, violence against women, land grabbing, harassment of common people, and torture of journalists, all of which took place during the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

In particular, they demanded stern legal action against the perpetrators involved in the torture, harassment and violation of human rights of the country’s minority communities.

Protesting the incidents and demanding prevention, the noted citizens, who represent different national-level civil society and human rights platforms, sent separate letters of memorandum to the home minister and law minister yesterday, said a press release.

The noted citizens are: Sultana Kamal, Justice Nizamul Huq, Hameeda Hossain, Iftekharuzzaman, Khushi Kabir, Prof Abul Barkat, Advocate Rana Dasgupta, Meghna Guhathakurta, Sara Hossain, Advocate ZI Khan Panna, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Sanjeeb Drong, Advocate Tobarak Hossain, Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, Kajal Debnath and Shamsul Huda.

They said hundreds of people died from Covid-19 while several law enforcement agency members, doctors and health service workers also died of the disease in line of duty.

“At the same time, we sadly learnt that even in this crisis, fear has spread among minority community people as there were attacks on their lives and livelihoods. Both religious and ethnic minority communities were attacked, there were attempts of land-grabbing, their religious practices and places of worship were attacked,” the signatories said in their letter.

Women and children were not spared either, they added.