Killing of Bangladeshi in US: Human chain demands justice

A human chain was formed in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka on Monday, demanding justice for the killing of the Bangladeshi-American student of University of Massachusetts, Sayed Faisal.

The protest took place just ahead of the visiting US National Security Council’s Senior Director for South Asia Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher’s scheduled meeting (2:30pm) with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen at the foreign ministry, reports UNB.

The protestors shouted: “We want justice.”

Eileen Laubacher arrived on Saturday evening and is scheduled to leave Dhaka on Tuesday. On Sunday, she visited the Rohingya camps and talked to relevant officials and the Rohingyas.

A Cambridge Police officer shot and killed an allegedly armed Faisal on Wednesday, prompting dozens to protest police brutality and call for transparency at Cambridge City Hall on Thursday.

Journalist and columnist Ajay Das Gupta described the incident as “very unfortunate” and said that the US police shot dead the Bangladeshi who was not found guilty of any crime.

“We want justice for him,” he said.

He said there are many human rights violations and racial violence happening in the US but they are lecturing other countries, including Bangladesh, on human rights.

Dhaka South City Corporation Councillor and former Bangladesh Chhatra League Vice President Hasibur Rahman Manik said they want justice for Faisal and that the foreign ministry should take actions in this regard.

When approached, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said the US has a good judicial process and the authorities there will surely take action.

Referring to the killing of a Bangladeshi-American in the US, Momen on Friday said that Bangladesh does not want any hate crime anywhere in the world.

“The Bangladeshi community there (US) are alleging it to be a hate crime,” Momen told reporters about the death of a Bangladeshi expatriate after being shot by the police at Cambridge in Massachusetts of the US on Thursday.