Rehana Begum, 43, was killed in Sunamganj, in the north-east of the country, on August 2.
Ali, a shadow minister for international development, is in Bangladesh for a week-long trip to see garment industries after Rana plaza incident. She made her point while talking to journalists in the capital. British Bangladesh All Party Parliamentary Group members are accompanying her.
She said she urged Prime Minister when she called on her on Thursday “to do everything she can to ensure that authorities in Sylhet take necessary steps to find those people, arrest them and bring them to justice”.
“We cannot have a situation where people face threat to their lives while visiting their families. In this case this woman was murdered…in other cases people are being intimidated, threatened, their lands are being encroached,” she said asking authorities to take this issue ‘seriously’.
She said Rehana Begum was respected very much’ and an important member of the local community in Britain and all British Bangladeshi were ‘unhappy and deeply concerned’ over the incident.
“It’s appalling that she came to visit her family, but brutally murdered”.
She said soon after the murder, she communicated with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, foreign minister Dipu Moni and other relevant ministers.
“I have been keeping in touch with her family to try, to the best of my ability, giving them assistance they need. You could imagine how terrifying and appalling the situation,” she said.
Stating that the incident has sent across a negative message she said, “For wider British Bangladesh community it was a message that someone who goes to see family could be brutally murdered.”
“…it does not inspire confidence at all”.
She said she was informed that two had been arrested so far and others were absconding.
“What we need is that the authorities and police continue the investigation in order to arrest those who are still at large in order to bring them to justice,” she said.
Flanked by her colleague Shabana Mahmood, MP, at the press briefing, Rushanara also criticised US for suspending GSP facilities for Bangladesh after the Rana Plaza collapse.
As a spokesperson of her party, she said the US response “sends wrong message”. “It suggests that they turn back on the industry rather than taking responsibility and fixing it, which should be the objective.”
