The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in a statement said, Bangladesh Police again attempted to justify extrajudicial executions with the excuse of “self-defence”. The latest attempt, according to AHRC, has been made in a media release sent out from the Police Headquarters and circulated to the country’s media on 2 August 2015. In order to hide its crimes of extrajudicial executions, the Bangladesh Police has tried to take shelter behind the controversial actions of the executive officers called ‘executive magistrates’ in Bangladesh. The police media release states that: “… An executive committee headed by a Magistrate investigates whether the police have exercised their right to self-defence correctly, or whether they have used excessive force. This matter can also be tried in...

From his shop overlooking a pier on this island near the border with Myanmar, Mohammad Hossain watched the human smuggling business swell. Over the years, the trickle gradually grew into an unending stream. The late-night flashes of light on the water, signaling that the coast was clear to launch boats, multiplied until they looked like summer lightning. That the boats were not carrying fish was an open secret here: One day, when a trawler sank on its way out, the water was littered with floating human bodies. The people of Shah Porir Dwip — fishermen, shopkeepers, police officers and shadowy bosses — were all drawn in, as participants or concerned observers, to a multimillion-dollar people smuggling business that sent roots deep into this impoverished corner of Bangladesh. [ca...