HRW slams Bangladesh’s interim government for authoritarian crackdown, suppression of freedoms

CHT DESK:

The interim government of Bangladesh, led by Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, faces mounting criticism from Human Rights Watch (HRW) over recent legislative actions that the rights group says imperil fundamental civil liberties.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the New York-based watchdog accused the administration of eschewing its commitment to democratic reform in favor of suppressing dissent—particularly targeting supporters of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League.

“On May 12, the interim government ordered a ‘temporary’ ban on the Awami League, using newly introduced powers under a draconian amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act,” the statement read.

“The ban includes, among other actions, meetings, publications and online speech supporting the party.”

While the government has pledged to restore democratic norms and accountability following the toppling of Hasina’s administration on August 5, 2024—after weeks of mass protests in which some 1,400 people were reportedly killed—HRW warned that its recent policies are alarmingly regressive.

“Meanwhile, draft legislation to address enforced disappearances, which were widespread under the previous government, does not meet international standards and scarcely addresses accountability for past crimes,” HRW stated.

Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at HRW, underscored the parallels between the repressive tactics of the former administration and those now being employed by its successor.

“Hasina’s government had abused legal powers to silence political opponents,” she said, “and using similar methods against the supporters of her party would also violate those same fundamental freedoms.”

“The draft legislation on enforced disappearances, on the other hand, does little to advance justice or provide answers for the hundreds of victims and families affected by disappearances under Hasina’s rule,” she added.

Following the Awami League ban, the Election Commission revoked the party’s official registration.

HRW expressed grave concern that the prohibition, ostensibly temporary, may become de facto permanent, effectively eliminating the party from public and political life.

“The interim government has prohibited ‘all activities, including any kind of publication, media, online and social media, any kind of campaign, procession, meeting, gathering, conference, etc, by the Awami League,’ curtailing supporters’ freedom of speech and association,” HRW said.

“The Awami League, which has been active since before independence, has a wide base of supporters.”

These sweeping actions followed a contentious amendment to the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973, granting the tribunal expansive powers to prosecute not only individuals but entire political organizations.

The amendment employs an alarmingly broad definition of “organization,” encompassing any group or individual deemed to “propagate or support” a banned entity.

“Because these powers are drafted so broadly, they could contravene international standards of due process and freedom of association,” HRW noted.

“Additionally, the tribunal is empowered to punish ‘any group of individuals which, in the opinion of the tribunal, propagates, supports, endorses, facilitates or engages in the activities of such a [banned] party or entity.”

HRW acknowledged the imperative of holding former officials accountable for serious abuses, but condemned the use of collective punishment and censorship.

“Imposing a ban on any speech or activity deemed supportive of a political party was an ‘excessive’ restriction on fundamental freedoms that mirrored the previous government’s abusive clampdown on political opponents,” the organization said.

Already, a wide range of citizens—including actors, lawyers, musicians, and political activists—have been arrested on what HRW described as politically motivated murder charges, their detentions justified by accusations of supporting Hasina’s “fascist” rule.

Simultaneously, HRW noted alarming inertia in addressing historical abuses, particularly enforced disappearances perpetrated under the Awami League.

While a commission of inquiry established on August 27, 2024, has recorded 1,676 complaints and confirmed that approximately 200 victims remain missing, the draft law on enforced disappearances fails to incorporate the commission’s findings.

The commission’s preliminary report described a “systematic design” behind the disappearances, with political opponents being disproportionately targeted.

It documented harrowing evidence of torture and secret detentions at clandestine facilities operated by state security forces. The commission has requested an extension until December 2025 to finalize its report.

However, the proposed legislation sidesteps the most egregious abuses, excluding from its remit any enforced disappearances considered “widespread” or “systematic.” Such cases would instead fall under the jurisdiction of the country’s discredited and overstretched International Crimes Tribunal.

“While the proposed disappearances law would establish a new National Commission on the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearances, there are no provisions to ensure its independence,” HRW cautioned.

“Criminal cases of those suspected of enforced disappearances would be prosecuted by a new Tribunal for Prevention and Remedies of Enforced Disappearance.

However, neither body would have jurisdiction over ‘widespread or systematic’ enforced disappearances that constitute crimes against humanity, which constitute most cases committed under the previous government.”

The draft law also weakens standards for command responsibility, deviating from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Unlike the Statute, which holds commanders accountable if they “knew or should have known” of their subordinates’ crimes, the proposed Bangladeshi legislation requires proof that a superior “exercised authority in an act connected with the disappearance.”

Moreover, the text lacks clarity, failing to differentiate between military and civilian command structures and using the vague term “superior officer.”

HRW also condemned the inclusion of the death penalty for disappearance-related killings, describing it as “inherently abusive and incompatible with human rights and human dignity.”

For the families of the disappeared, the lack of justice has prolonged suffering. “I still hope [my son] will come back,” said the mother of a man who vanished in state custody in 2013. “But if he can’t come back, I want the perpetrators brought to justice so no one can think of taking away another mother’s son.”

Instead of receiving support, some victims’ families report being subjected to state intimidation. “Sanjida Islam, coordinator of a victims’ organization, Mayer Daak, whose family home was raided by police on May 8,” the HRW statement revealed.

To truly uphold human rights, HRW implored the interim administration to rescind its suppression of Awami League members’ rights and focus on transparent, evidence-based prosecutions of individuals accused of grave abuses.

“The government should refrain from politically motivated pretrial detentions and ensure that they were the exception, only when necessary in an individual case, and not the rule,” HRW said.

“The priority should be to deliver justice for human rights violations, particularly unlawful killings and enforced disappearances.”

HRW urged authorities to act on the commission’s evidence by prosecuting alleged perpetrators, removing implicated security officials from active duty, and disclosing the fate of the disappeared.

“There is widespread anger against the Awami League for the many abuses committed during Hasina’s rule, but stripping supporters of opposition parties of their rights isn’t a way forward,” said Ganguly.

“Instead, the interim government should ensure progress on revealing what happened to the disappeared and holding perpetrators accountable through fair trials.”