Try Hasina, Awami League
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wrong. I tell India: this is not Sheikh Hasina’s Bangladesh. If necessary, we will go to the border. You cannot present Bangladesh in a bad light to the world through lies.”
Nahid emphasised the need for unity to hold the Awami League accountable. “Everyone must rise above ideological differences and unite.”
Calling for an end to misinformation about Bangladesh in Indian media, he said, “Awami League members attacked minorities during their rule at various times. Despite witnessing this, India remained silent.”
Jatiya Nagorik Committee spokesperson Samantha Sharmin said Hasina must face trial both domestically and internationally.
BNP Joint Secretary General Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee said, “We endured the horrors of a fascist regime for 15 years… Many among us are torture survivors. I want all involved in the atrocities to be brought to justice.”
Student leader Hasnat Abdullah said, “Those who helped former prime minister Sheikh Hasina flee the country must also be found and held accountable.”
Many of the AL leaders who fled the country after August 5 have reportedly taken refuge in India.
Hasnat said, “India must not become a haven for terrorists.”
Another student leader Sarjis Alam urged police to be cautious, stating that cases are being filed and withdrawn for money over crimes committed in July.
“We will prevent any attempts to carry out extremist acts in the name of religion or ethnicity. We will stand together to stop it,” he said.
BNP Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan said that in July, people “sacrificed their lives to save democracy”.
“We need reforms within our own selves… We are united when it comes to the country’s independence and sovereignty,” he said.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and representatives from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Robert F Kennedy Human Rights expressed solidarity with the victims in video messages.
Family members broke down in tears as they recounted how their loved ones were taken from them. Children who lost their parents spoke.
Some who suffered life-changing injuries at the hand of police and AL activists attended the event. Many of them had lost sight.
Rasheda Begum, mother of a protester shot dead on July 18, said her son Sohel Rana got shot in Jatrabari. “He was buried as unknown at Rayerbagh graveyard. Will I not get my son’s body? My son is not an unclaimed corpse. Why was he buried as an unclaimed body?”
Jamaat leaders Mia Golam Porwar, Hamidur Rahman Azad; Nagorik Oikkyo President Mahmudur Rahman Manna; Ganosamhati Andolon leader Zonayed Saki; Biplobi Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque, AB Party member secretary Mojibur Rahman Monju; Hefazat leader Mufti Monir Hossain Kashemi; Nagorik Committee member Akhter Hossain; Hummam Quader Chowdhury, son of BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury; Huma Khan, senior human rights adviser at the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office; and Mayer Daak members Hajera Khatun and Sanjida Islam Tulee spoke at the event.