Killings of suspected ‘drug offenders’ in Bangladesh must stop, says UN’s Zeid
Introduction:
Bangladesh’s “zero-tolerance” policy on suspected drug offenders must stop amid reports that it has caused a reported 130 extrajudicial killings in the past three weeks, the UN’s human rights chief said on Wednesday.
The initiative, which began on 15 May, has also led to more than 13,000 arrests, High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement.
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that it was particularly worrying that the measures began just after Bangladesh told a UN committee in Geneva that it intended to investigate alleged extrajudicial killings.
Ms. Shamdasani spoke to Daniel Johnson about the High Commissioner’s comments.
Bangladesh’s “zero-tolerance” policy on suspected drug offenders must stop amid reports that it has caused a reported 130 extrajudicial killings and led to more than 13,000 arrests since the policy began on 15 May, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement on Wednesday.
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that it was particularly worrying that the measures began just after Bangladesh told a UN committee in Geneva that it intended to investigate alleged extrajudicial killings.
Ms. Shamdasani spoke to Daniel Johnson.