Foreign minister reiterates vow to find Mohibullah’s killers

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has repeated his promise to identify and punish those who killed Rohingya leader Mohibullah.

"Mohibullah protested to go back to his country, it was a legitimate protest. Some did not like it and maybe that's why they killed him. It is very unfortunate. We will identify and punish those who committed the murder. We do not want such incidents to repeat," Momen said.

The foreign minister made the remarks while addressing reporters at the foreign ministry on Wednesday.

He said, "We do not want anyone to die. We have already taken action regarding the murder; arrests have been made. And we are providing full protection to the Rohingyas in the camps. We will increase surveillance around the border as well."

Mohibullah, 46, who led the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, was shot dead at around 8:30pm at a Kutupalong camp office in Cox's Bazar on 30 September.

He had represented the Rohingya community at the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2019. 

Mohibullah came to the limelight on 25 August 2019 when a rally organised by the Arakan Rohingya Society, to observe two years of the latest Rohingya exodus from the Rakhine state of Myanmar, drew more than 100,000 people.

A number of human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International and Fortify Rights have urged the Bangladesh government to investigate the murder and deliver justice.

Besides, the United Nations and the United States spoke out over the killing of the Rohingya leader and called on Bangladeshi authorities to investigate his shooting and bring those responsible to justice.

Previously on 30 September, the minister vowed to bring the killers of Mohibullah to justice soon.