US human rights report on law enforcers misrepresents facts: Home Minister

Wed Apr 13, 2022 09:20 PM Last update on: Wed Apr 13, 2022 10:17 PM
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan. Star file photo

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said the US State Department’s recent human report on the abuse of power by the country’s law enforcement agencies is contradictory.

He made the remarks in response to a question from reporters at his secretariat office here today.

“The number of disappearances and murders that were included in the report in 2021 was not correct as our record,” he added.

“If anyone is killed in a gunfight with our security forces, even if the security forces fire in self-defence, an executive magistrate investigates every case and if he/she proves the truth of the incident, we will close that matter,” he added.

“If the executive magistrate thinks that the incident or gunfights have taken place sans valid ground, we send it to the judiciary. None is above the law in our country,” said the minister.

He said those who did wrong here have to face the law. “So, I think they (the US State Department) misrepresented the facts in its report,” said the minister.

Asaduzzaman also said every incident of disappearance and murder was investigated properly. “But in many cases, it was found that they went into hiding due to personal reasons.”

But the US report said it was disappearance or murder, this is not true, Kamal also added.

“Security forces brought many people by sincere investigation. I can still firmly say that the published report is a fabricated one,” said the minister.