Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken a dig at the United States, saying it releases reports on human rights in Bangladesh but does not scrutinise its own human rights issues.

She strongly condemned and protested against the human rights violations of Bangladeshi citizens in the United States and sought answers from human rights organisations.

On Tuesday, before a meeting of the executive committee of the Awami League at her official residence Ganabhaban, the prime minister spoke about the recent killings of several Bangladeshis in the United States.

The most recent incident occurred last Saturday in Buffalo, New York, where two Bangladeshis named Yusuf and Babul were shot dead.

Earlier, on Apr 7, another Bangladeshi named Zakir Hossain Khosru was attacked. He died on Apr 10.

Following that, on Apr 12, a young man named Hossein Ali Razi was shot dead by police at his home in Warren City, Michigan.

Before that, on Mar 27 in New York, police gunned down a 19-year-old young man named Win Rosario at his home.

Raising these incidents, Hasina said, "So many of our Bengalis have been killed... just the other day, two Bengalis were brutally murdered. We protest this.

"They went there for life and livelihood. Why should they be killed like this? They have not committed any crimes. Even small children are not spared from their hands."

She said, "A small child, what he said to the president for which he was shot inside the house. They entered the house and shot the child. What will be the answer?

"Those who sing the song of human rights and look for human rights in Bangladesh, what will they answer?

"I want answers from the human rights organisations, the Department of Justice, and those who keep us under surveillance. I want to know why my Bengalis are being killed?"

The prime minister also criticised the suppression of protests at universities in the United States against the brutal killings of Palestinians by Israel.

She said, "Here, during the protest, a woman professor said, 'I am a university professor.' The way the police handcuffed her, threw her to the ground, and arrested her by kneeling on her!

"There, the students and teachers had no sticks, no fire, and they were not aggressive towards police. Yet, the attack by the American police raises questions about how much human rights, freedom of speech, and the right to protest against injustice exist in that country."

Criticising the United States, Hasina continued, "They write human rights reports on Bangladesh but do not look at their own faces in the mirror. The way they behave, our police have not done so.

"Trying to show patience, police were beaten by the BNP. If a member of any party had touched a police officer in America, what would they have done?"

She said, "Taking an underage child from his mother's lap and killing him, oppressing professors, the way police handcuffed the female professor to the ground, we want answers. This is a complete violation of human rights."