Altered video of UN human rights chief misleads online
- Published on January 4, 2026 at 06:27
- 3 min read
- By Eyamin SAJID, AFP Bangladesh
After a Bangladesh court sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity in November 2025, an altered video of UN human rights chief Volker Türk surfaced online in posts falsely claiming he announced a "verdict" in two cases against Dhaka's interim government at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The UN human rights body (OHCHR) told AFP he made no such statement -- Türk in fact suggested Bangladesh refer difficult cases surrounding the August 2024 uprising that ousted Hasina to the ICC.
"Verdict of two cases, filed with the International Criminal Court against Yunus’s government, came in favor of Sheikh Hasina while remaining cases are in progress," says a Bengali-language Facebook post shared on November 19, 2025.
It goes on to claim that the tribunal that convicted Hasina was "illegal and politically motivated", adding the ICC will take "immediate action" against them.
The post features a video of Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, saying: "Some cases are either so difficult to prosecute and to handle. It's better to refer it to the International Criminal Court. That’s a consideration for the government of Bangladesh."
He also said human rights violations were committed by security officials to "suppress protests" and keep the former government in power.
The latter part of the video shows him saying that they also documented "serious acts of revenge" done by private individuals against "the former ruling party."
Hasina, who led the now outlawed Awami League party, was found guilty and sentenced to death by a Bangladesh court on November 17, 2025 (archived here and here).
The trial centred around the 1,400 people who were killed between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations.
The deposed leader called the guilty verdict and death sentence in her crimes against humanity trial "biased and politically motivated" and has challenged the interim government -- led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus -- to bring these charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague (archived link).
The video was also shared in similar Facebook posts.
However, the circulating video includes several segments of Türk's speech edited together in a misleading manner.
In an email on December 30, 2025, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) told AFP the comments and quotes being attributed to Türk "are certainly not his".
Stitched video
There are no cases filed against Yunus or other current Bangladesh leaders on the ICC website (archived link).
The Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC told AFP that it has not conducted any preliminary examination on the situation in Bangladesh.
"We can confirm that the Bangladeshi authorities did not refer the situation in Bangladesh to the Office of the Prosecutor," the Public Information Unit told AFP on December 24, 2025.
The office said it has also received multiple reports of alleged crimes committed in Bangladesh since mid-2024 but following assessment it has decided not to carry out a preliminary examination at this time.
A keyword search led to footage of a press conference by the OHCHR posted to its official website on February 13, 2025 (archived link).
The press conference is about OHCHR's report on the protests in Bangladesh.
The team determined that security forces had supported Hasina's government throughout the unrest, which began as protests against civil service job quotas and then escalated into wider calls for her to stand down.
The first part of the video in the false post corresponds to the 22:00-mark of the video, where UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the Bangladesh government can refer cases that are "difficult to prosecute" to the International Criminal Court (archived link).
"And it also shows the value of the international criminal justice system," he explained.
The latter half of the edited video shows Türk's remarks from the 1:50-mark of the press conference video, where he speaks about violations carried out by security forces against protesters and the "serious acts of revenge" directed against Hasina's party and religious minorities in Bangladesh.
At no point during the press conference does Türk say cases against the Bangladesh interim government have been filed or announce any verdicts.
AFP has previously debunked misinformation about political unrest in Bangladesh.
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