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Human rights groups have called for an investigation into the shooting of a famous Rohingya leader in the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh.
Mohibula was in his 40s and had eight children. He was killed by an unidentified gunman at a camp in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday night. He has led one of the largest community groups since more than 730,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar after the military crackdown on the Muslim-majority minority in August 2017.
“He left me with too much responsibility,” his wife Nasima Begum told Al Jazeera. “I’m discouraged, how do you manage the house now? This is a difficult road. I am afraid to live here now, we need safety.”
Human Rights Watch said Mohibullah is an important voice in the Rohingya community.
“He has always defended the right of the Rohingya to return in safety and dignity, and has a say in decisions about their lives and future. The director of the Human Rights Organization South Asia, Meenakshi Ganguly, said A statement said: “His killing is a clear testament to the risks faced by those who speak out for freedom and against violence in concentration camps. “
“The death of Mohibullah not only undermined the Rohingya refugees’ struggle for more rights and protection in refugee camps, but also undermined their efforts to return home safely to Myanmar. The Bangladeshi authorities should urgently investigate the killing of Mohibullah and other targeted refugees. Attacks by Rohingya activists in the camp,” she said.
In 2019, Mohibra, the leader of the Arakan Rohingya Peace and Human Rights Association, talked with other Rohingya refugees at the Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh [File: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]Amnesty International also condemned the killing and urged the Bangladeshi authorities and the UN refugee agency to work together to ensure that people in the camps are protected, including refugees, activists and humanitarian workers from Rohingya and local communities. Many of them have common concerns regarding their safety.
“The problem of violence in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp is getting worse,” said Saad Hammadi, an Amnesty International South Asia activist. “Armed groups operating drug cartels killed and took hostages. The authorities must take immediate action to prevent further bloodshed.”
‘Stern action’
Mohibullah is known as a moderate, and he advocates that the Rohingya return to Myanmar with their rights denied during decades of persecution.
He is the leader of the Arakan Rohingya Peace and Human Rights Association, which was established in 2017 to document the atrocities suffered by the Rohingya in their native Myanmar and allow them to express their opinions in future international negotiations.
But his high profile made him a target for hardliners, and he told Reuters in 2019 that he received death threats. “If I die, I will be fine. I will give my life,” he said at the time.
The government of Bangladesh has pledged to take action against the murderer of Muhibullah.
“The government will take severe action against those involved in the killing. No one is spared,” Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said in his first comment after his killing.
Mormon said in a statement that “vested” interests were responsible for the killing because Mohibula hopes to return to Myanmar. “The murderer of Mohibullah must be brought to justice.”
The police said the murder was carefully planned and detained a suspect in the case on Friday.
“All police units participated in resolving the case and identifying the motives behind it,” said Naimul Haq, commander of the 14th Battalion of the Armed Police. “I hope we can resolve this case as soon as possible.”
‘destroy’
The killing ignited grief and anger in the camp, and some residents said it was the latest evidence that armed groups’ struggle for power led to increased violence.
In a video circulating on social media, Muhibullah’s brother Habibullah claimed to have witnessed the shooting, and he accused the armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army active in the camp.
“They killed him because he was the leader and all Rohingya obeyed him,” Habibullah said. Before firing, “They said he could not be the leader of the Rohingya, and the Rohingya could not have any leader,” he said.
Unable to independently verify his account. ARSA said in a Twitter post on Friday that it was “shocked and sad” by the killing and condemned “baseless and hearsay accusations.”
More than 1 million Rohingya live in these camps, and most of them fled neighboring Myanmar during the military repression that UN investigators said was motivated by genocide.
Myanmar denies committing genocide, saying it is launching a legal campaign against armed combatants who attacked police posts.
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