Bangladesh Nationalist Party- BNP on Thursday claimed that around 3,000 people were subjected to extrajudicial killings throughout the country in the past one decade of Awami League rule. The party demanded proper trial of all such incidents.

Speaking at a virtual press conference from his Uttara residence, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, ''Around 3,000 people have been victims of extrajudicial killings by police, RAB and DB personnel from January 2009 to December 2019, and most of them are opposition leaders and activists.'' 

As many as 795 people died in jail while 601 were made disappeared in the past 10 years, he added. Mirza Fakhrul went on to add, '' At least 7,806 women were raped, 1934 children tortured and 18 children killed during the period. More than one hundred thousand political lawsuits have been filed against at least 3.5 million BNP leaders and activists.''

''These statistics show that our beloved homeland liberated in exchange for blood of hundreds of thousands martyrs, honor and chastity of hundreds of thousands of mothers and sisters has now turned into a valley of death, he added. 

Quoting statistics of the Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), the BNP secretary general said 196 people became the victims of extrajudicial killings or custodial deaths from January to July 28 this year, while 388 in 2019, 466 in 2018, 162 in 2017 and 195 in 2016.

Mirza Fakhrul also talked about the killing of Major (retd) Sinha Md Rashed and said, ''Common people hardly dare file a case against police as the entire nation has burst into a protest against the killing of Sinha. 

His family is getting the courage to seek justice. We want a fair trial in the murder of Sinha. We also want trial of all extrajudicial killings, and we believe justice will prevail if a pro-people government comes to power.''

Mirza Fakhrul added that their party had long been repeatedly saying police force used to make false and fabricated stories after the incident of crossfire as ''part of a blueprint'' of the government to cling to power.The BNP secretary general said, ''The government now cannot control law enforcers as it earlier used them to eliminate oppositions and rig votes.''