Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun has said the massacre during the July-August mass uprising was carried out on the orders of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and ex-Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. He made the statement on Tuesday while giving testimony before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 led by Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumder as a state witness in a case filed over crimes against humanity committed during the uprising. In his statement, Abdullah Al-Mamun revealed that coordinators of the July-August movement were detained and subjected to psychological torture in an effort to force them to get back from the protests, acting on the orders of then Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. He said political interference in the police force intensified following the 2018 national elections. Certain police officers, he said, gained significant influence and maintained direct contact with senior political leaders. According to Mamun, these officers held frequent secret meetings, almost every night, at the residence of former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. The meetings often continued late into the night. Among those in attendance, he named several high-ranking police officials, including former DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman, DB Chief Harun ur Rashid, SB’s Monirul Islam, Dhaka Range DIG Nurul Islam, Additional DIG Biplob Kumar Sarker, ASP Kafi, OC Mazhar, Forkan Apurba, and others. He claimed that some of them were directly in contact with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Mamun alleged that these officers often bypassed the official chain of command due to their political connections. "I tried to ensure they performed their duties professionally," he said, adding, "But the force became divided into two groups, each competing to place their allies in key positions, especially within Dhaka." He also revealed information about various detention centres used during his tenure in the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), including the notorious Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) cell. Former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun also offered an apology to the martyrs, the injured, their families, the nation and the tribunal. The High Court will, however, decide whether he will be granted a pardon. Acknowledging his role in the July Uprising, Abdullah Al-Mamun said, “If the full truth comes to light through my honest and complete account, and if Allah grants me more time, I will be relieved of at least some of the guilt I carry for the rest of my life.” The International Crimes Tribunal-1 has formally framed charges against three accused in the case, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The prosecution has brought five charges of crimes against humanity against them. So far, 35 people have testified in the case related to the July-August uprising, revealing harrowing accounts of massacres carried out across the country during last year’s student and public uprising. Statements from witnesses have detailed various incidents of violence, painting a grim picture of what unfolded during the unrest. Families of the victims and witnesses have demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible, placing blame squarely on figures including Sheikh Hasina and Kamal. Earlier on July 10, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun publicly admitted responsibility for crimes against humanity committed during the mass uprising. The U.N. human rights office has estimated that up to 1,400 people were killed in Bangladesh over a three-week period last summer during a crackdown on student-led protests against the now-ousted prime minister. In a report released from Geneva, the office said security and intelligence agencies “systematically engaged” in rights violations that may amount to crimes against humanity and warrant further investigation. Drawing on “various credible sources,” the rights office estimated that as many as 1,400 people were killed between 15 July and 5 August — the day Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s long-serving prime minister, fled to India amid the mass uprising. Thousands more were injured in the weeks surrounding the protests, with the vast majority of casualties caused by gunfire from Bangladesh’s security forces, the report noted. Over 11,700 people were detained during the unrest, according to information from security services. The report also highlighted that 12–13% of those killed — about 180 people — were children. In some cases, it said, “security forces engaged in summary executions by deliberately shooting unarmed protesters at point-blank range.” U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk pointed to evidence suggesting that “extrajudicial killings, extensive arbitrary arrests and detentions, and torture” were carried out with the knowledge and coordination of political leaders and senior security officials in a bid to suppress the protests.  

The government has moved to issue an Interpol red notice against the owners of three garment factories -- TNZ Group, Dard Group and Roar Fashion Ltd -- following allegations of their prolonged stay abroad and failure to ensure due payments to workers. The individuals accused are Managing Director of TNZ Group Shahadat Hossain Shamim, Chairman of Dard Group Ittemad Ud Doula, Managing Director of Dard Group Nabil Ud Doula and Managing Director of Roar Fashion Ltd Mamunul Islam. Workers of TNZ Group recently demanded full due payments The move is based on cases filed with the Labour Court in Gazipur, and the First and Third Labour Courts in Dhaka, under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Adviser to the Ministries of Labour and Employment and Shipping Brigadier General (Retd) Dr M Sakhawat Hossain said, "We are committed to protecting the legitimate rights of workers, and we will take a strict stance against anyone who acts unjustly towards them." Mentioning that legal proceedings are ongoing against the accused over labour rights violations and related legal allegations, he said that the initiative aims to bring them back to the country and ensure that pending wages and dues are paid to the workers. Following a request from the Ministry of Labour and Employment to issue red notices against the factory owners and managing directors, a letter signed by the Additional Inspector General (NCB) at the Police Headquarters has been sent to Interpol requesting issuance of the red notices. Chief Adviser's Special Envoy for International Affairs Lutfey Siddiqi said, "Negligent or uncooperative behaviour by factory owners regarding the rightful claims of workers will not be tolerated. There must be consequences for such actions." He lauded the Labour and Employment Adviser for his firm steps in this regard.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has expressed grave concern over worsening atrocities in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, warning that the situation bears “distressingly similar” resemblance to the 2017 military campaign that forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas into Bangladesh. A report released in Geneva on Tuesday by the UN Human Rights Office documented the killing of some 7,100 people by Myanmar’s military since the 2021 coup, a third of them women and children.  At least 29,560 people were arrested on political grounds, with over 22,000 still held in military-controlled courts without due process. The report said the escalation of hostilities in Rakhine has displaced hundreds of thousands, while about 150,000 Rohingyas have crossed into Bangladesh since November 2023, adding to nearly one million already living in camps. “Civilians from both Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine communities continue to suffer the consequences of the hostilities, with widespread and systematic patterns of indiscriminate attacks by the military against civilians and protected objects, forced displacement, forced recruitment, disappearances, arbitrary arrests, arson and property destruction, denial of humanitarian assistance, and repeated atrocities aimed at terrorizing them,” said Türk. “The military and the Arakan Army have acted with near complete impunity enabling the recurrence of violations in an endless cycle of suffering for the civilian population. Videos and pictures show death, destruction and desperation, distressingly similar to images that we already saw during the 2017 atrocities committed by the military against the Rohingya. It pains me deeply to see the same happening again,” he added. The UN rights chief reiterated his call for a full referral of Myanmar’s situation to the International Criminal Court, citing continued violations of international law and prevailing impunity. Covering the 14 months up to May 31, 2025, the report highlighted that nearly half of civilian deaths across Myanmar resulted from aerial attacks. It also flagged new trends, including the use of explosives with chemicals and paramotors to drop munitions on civilian areas. Türk urged immediate humanitarian access, noting that nearly one-third of Myanmar’s population faces acute food insecurity this year.  “It is past time for Myanmar’s people finally to see meaningful action taken to end this wanton violence against them and the immediate provision of humanitarian aid especially for populations that have suffered violence, hunger, displacement for years and were denied humanitarian assistance by the military,” he said. “Humanitarian funding is urgently required to meet these needs, and I implore Member States to act to hold the parties to their obligations to allow help to reach those in need, and to support international efforts to hold those responsible for violations of international law to account,” Türk stressed. Bangladesh, hosting the world’s largest forcibly displaced Rohingya population, continues to call for greater international pressure on Myanmar to ensure safe and sustainable repatriation, observers said.