The National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh (NHRCB) has voiced concerns over the deaths of drug peddlers in “gunfights” with law enforcement agencies over the last couple days.
“Drug abuse is a serious threat to the nation. In order to build a good nation, there is no alternative to purging the country of drugs. All stakeholders, including the government, need to take all-out measures to prevent drug abuse and wage a social movement against drugs,” NHRCB Chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque said in a press statement on Tuesday.
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“There must be exemplary punishment for drug traders, but that has to be in accordance with the existing legal framework and human rights law.”
Law enforcers need to comply with these laws while conducting drives against those involved in drug peddling, he stressed.
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In the last two days, at least 20 suspected drug dealers have been killed across the country in anti-drug drives, carried out mostly by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
Their drives followed the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who recently ordered the elite force to continue its actions against drug abuse as this menace is spreading fast in society.
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"We’ve been able to achieve huge successes by conducting drives against extremism and militancy. Now, such drives will have to continue against drug abuse,” she told the 14th founding anniversary of RAB at its headquarters in Dhaka on May 3.