Police cannot be the judge, jury and executioner

It is regrettable that "crossfire" or "shootouts" have become a euphemism for extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh. But the administration's attempt to lend a veneer of propriety by using those words to justify extrajudicial killings cannot wash with the public. These killings are not only a gross violation of human rights but also a breach of rule of law and abdication of the legal process. Needless to say, it has severely tarnished the image of the country.

The number of deaths this year in such incidents has witnessed a remarkable spike and surpassed all past figures. While even one such death is one too many, one wonders how the administration would explain the 406 deaths so far in 2018. Most of the victims, reportedly, are alleged drug dealers while some are political cadres belonging to the opposition camps.

We agree that the dangerous spread of drugs, particularly yaba, needs to be curbed. But indiscriminate killing of alleged drug dealers is not the way to go about redressing the problem. In many cases, some of the big fish have been fortunate not only to survive, but also evade the so-called long hands of the law. If the government means business it must remove its partisan eye glass to address the issue.

The official explanation of the circumstances of most of the deaths contradicts the statement of the eyewitnesses and family members. The home minister has tried to explain it away by saying that these were deaths in crossfire, but seldom have the police displayed the weapons used by the victims that they are alleged to have used to engage in crossfire against the police.

These deaths merit to be investigated. No country that claims to be governed by the rule of law can abandon the legal norms. Every person, even the most hardened criminal, deserves to be heard in the court of law. And in the court of public opinion, any government which fails to guarantee that will have failed in fulfilling its fundamental duty—ensuring human rights for all.