Multimedia Newsroom
Thursday, 29 September 2016
Available in
  • ENG
  • FRA

  • Bangladesh: Stop ‘Kneecapping’ Detainees

    (New York, September 29, 2016) – Security forces in Bangladesh are deliberately shooting members and supporters of opposition parties in the leg, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Victims explained that police shot them in custody and then falsely claimed that they were shot in self-defense, in crossfire with armed criminals, or during violent protests.“Security forces in Bangladesh have long killed detainees in fake ‘crossfire killings,’ pretending the victim was killed when the authorities took him back to the scene of the crime and were attacked by one of his accomplices,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Now they’re adopting tactics similar to those once used by the Irish Republican Army and engaging in ‘kneecappings’ of people they have arrested, apparently because they belong to or support an opposition party.”The 45-page report, “‘No Right to Live’: ‘Kneecapping’ and Maiming of Detainees by Bangladesh Security Forces,” calls upon Bangladesh authorities to order prompt, impartial, and independent investigations into all alleged “kneecappings” and other deliberate infliction of serious injuries by members of the security forces. The government should also invite the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN special rapporteurs on torture and extrajudicial executions to investigate “kneecappings” and other alleged acts of torture and make appropriate recommendations to ensure justice, accountability, and security force reform.
    Videos (1)
    201609ASIA Bangladesh Kneecapping Social Feature