Rohingya refugees take part within the funeral procession of Mohibullah, a world consultant of ethnic Rohingya refugees, in Kutupalong, Bangladesh, Thursday, September 30, 2021.
Credit score: AP Picture/ Shafiqur Rahman
Police in Bangladesh stated Friday they arrested a suspect within the killing of a key Rohingya chief, who was a distinguished voice for the repatriation of the refugees to Myanmar.
Mohibullah, who was recognized by one identify, had been a world advocate for Rohingya rights, together with touring to the White Home for a gathering on spiritual freedom in 2019.
He was fatally shot late Wednesday on the Kutupalong refugee camp at Ukhiya in Cox’s Bazar district in southern Bangladesh, the place about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims had fled persecution in Myanmar. No group has claimed accountability.
The person arrested Friday additionally was a Rohingya, stated Naimul Haque, a senior official of the Armed Police Battalion. He gave no different particulars and stated he was being questioned.
Mohibullah’s brother Habibullah informed reporters that the assailants lined their faces throughout the assault however that he acknowledged a few of them. He was with Mohibullah throughout the assault.
One other witness, Mohammed Sharif, a co-worker within the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights that Mohibullah chaired, stated a bunch of eight to 10 folks had entered the workplace and three of them surrounded Mohibullah.
“One pointed the gun between his eyes, the opposite on his chest and one other one right here on the arm they usually all fired,” he stated. “Then they fired two extra pictures within the air and hurriedly fled. Nobody even realized as all this occurred so quick.”
Worry and frustration gripped the sprawling camps after the killing.
“We Rohingya have now grow to be like cattle prepared for slaughter, what else can I say. I’m nonetheless in shock,” stated Sayed Alam, an uncle of Mohibullah. “The individuals who had focused my nephew are the identical individuals who killed him and made him a martyr.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated the U.S. was saddened by the killing and praised Mohibullah as a courageous and fierce advocate for Rohingya rights.
“We urge a full and clear investigation into his loss of life with the objective of holding the perpetrators of this heinous crime accountable. We are going to honor his work by persevering with to advocate for Rohingya and elevate up the voices of members of the neighborhood in selections about their future,” Blinken stated in a press release.
The U.N. Excessive Commissioner for Refugees additionally condemned the killing and known as for the federal government to do its greatest to guard the refugees.
On Thursday night, 1000’s of refugees attended funeral prayers earlier than Mohibullah was buried in a graveyard contained in the camp.
Mohibullah, a former instructor who was in his 40s, had served as a spokesman representing the Muslim ethnic group in worldwide conferences. He visited the White Home in 2019 for a gathering on spiritual freedom with then-President Donald Trump and spoke concerning the struggling and persecution confronted by Rohingya in Myanmar.
That very same 12 months, he was bitterly criticized by Bangladeshi media after he led a large rally of 200,000 refugees to mark the second anniversary of the crackdown by Myanmar’s army.
Human Rights Watch known as Mohibullah an important voice for the Rohingya neighborhood. “He all the time defended the rights of the Rohingya to secure and dignified returns and to have a say within the selections regarding their lives and future,” Meenakshi Ganguly, the group’s South Asia director, stated in a press release.
Violence within the refugee camps has been a rising drawback, stated Saad Hammadi, Amnesty Worldwide’s South Asia campaigner. “Armed teams working drug cartels have killed folks and held hostages,” he stated, urging authorities to take rapid motion to forestall extra bloodshed.
Total, Bangladesh has been sheltering greater than 1.1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar after earlier waves of persecution. Whereas Bangladesh and Myanmar have sought to rearrange repatriations, the Rohingya are unwilling to return till Myanmar offers ensures of their security, together with providing them full citizenship.