Anti-Narcotics Drive: EU calls for probe into all deaths

The European Union missions in Dhaka have called for a complete investigation into all the deaths related to the ongoing drive against narcotics.

“We expect the authorities to ensure that all incidents involving the deaths of alleged criminal suspects are investigated fully and in accordance with due processes,” the heads of local EU missions said in a statement yesterday.

European Union delegation issued the statement in agreement with the EU heads of mission in Bangladesh. The head of mission of Norway associates herself with the statement.

Drug abuse and illicit trafficking is a global problem, the statement said.

The high-level casualties and reports of the use of excessive force in the drive against narcotics, however, is reported to have resulted in over 120 deaths since May 4, it added.

“Bangladesh has committed to uphold the rule of law and ensure that all law enforcement actions are carried out in accordance with the law and in adherence to international standards and norms, including with appropriate safeguards over the use of force,” the statement read.

The signatories of the statement are: ambassador and delegation of the European Union Rensje Teerink, Italian ambassador Mario Palma, German ambassador Thomas Heinrich Prinz, the Netherlands ambassador Leoni Cuelenaere, British high commissioner Alison Blake, Danish ambassador Mikael Hemniti Winther, Spanish ambassador D Álvaro de Salas Giménez de Azcárate, Swedish ambassador Charlotta Schlyter, France ambassador Marie-Annick Bourdin and Norwegian ambassador Sidsel Bleken.