Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday lashed out at Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of the country’s interim government, accusing him of undermining the Constitution and violating human rights.
Awami League members staged a protest at the Broken Chair in Geneva during the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, where Hasina addressed the gathering via phone. “Since coming to power, Yunus-led government has continued to violate the constitution and human rights," she said.
Demonstrators accused the interim administration of killings, rapes, enforced disappearances, arson, and false cases.
They carried placards reading “Killer Yunus” and “World should boycott Muhammad Yunus,” and raised slogans such as “Terrorist Terrorist, Yunus” and “Step Down Yunus.” Protesters also demanded the revocation of Yunus’s 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
Switzerland Awami League General Secretary Shaymal Khan told ANI, “The Yunus government is completely illegal. He took state power through a terrorist attack. He is committing illegal things in Bangladesh… Yunus is committing and promoting religious extremism in Bangladesh. We want the immediate resignation of illegal Yunus… Not only Hindus, but also other minorities and free-thinking people are paying a very high price for this situation.”
Khan claimed 50% of Bangladesh’s population supports the Awami League and called the upcoming elections a “joke” without their participation. “With Yunus, they are trying to build relations with Pakistan again, and going against our independence, and also doing many things against India without any valid reason,” he added.
Similar demonstrations were held outside the UN headquarters in New York, where diaspora groups alleged rising atrocities against minorities since Yunus assumed office.
At a UNHRC seminar in Geneva last week, Bangladeshi-origin scientist Dr Nuran Nabi warned of worsening conditions. “There are widespread human rights violations, with many people being killed by mob violence. The economic condition is dire, and people are going hungry. Many say they were better off before this government took power,” he said.
Nabi added that Yunus had “facilitated the rise of religious fundamentalists who are trying to establish a government or society similar to Afghanistan's.”
The Yunus-led interim government banned Awami League activities in May, after the party was ousted in 2024 following a student-led uprising. General elections are scheduled for February 2025.
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