Recent cases of ‘arbitrary arrests’ and ‘reprisal violence’ in Bangladesh underscore the need for long-term systemic reforms, Human Rights Watch has said in a report.
The New York-based rights body also urged the interim government to establish legal detention practices and repeal laws used to target critics.
The report, “After the Monsoon Revolution: A Roadmap to Lasting Security Sector Reform in Bangladesh,” published on Monday recommended for systemic reform after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic administration was ousted in August 2024.
Reforms should be centered on separation of powers and ensuring political neutrality across institutions, including the civil service, police, military, and the judiciary, it said.
The government should seek technical assistance, monitoring, and reporting by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN rights experts to ensure lasting reforms, it added.
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“Nearly 1,000 Bangladeshis lost their lives fighting for democracy, ushering in a landmark opportunity to build a rights-respecting future in Bangladesh,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“This hard-won progress could all be lost if the interim government does not create swift and structural reforms that can withstand any repression by future governments.”
The recommendations are based on over 20 years of Human Rights Watch research and documentation in Bangladesh as well as recent interviews with human rights activists, members of the interim government, and current and former law enforcement and military officials.
The interim government should introduce a UN Human Rights Council resolution at the council’s March 2025 session to ensure lasting reforms beyond the interim government’s limited tenure, Human Rights Watch said.
Donor governments should invest in police training and other security sector reform in Bangladesh, but not without these core structural reforms.
Human Rights Watch said it has found that a disturbing pattern of security force abuses has reemerged after Hasina’s ouster, this time targeting former Awami League supporters, including journalists.
The police are again arbitrarily detaining people and filing mass criminal complaints against unnamed people, which allows the police to intimidate and threaten virtually anyone with arrest.
In the first two months since the interim government took office, over 1,000 police cases were filed against tens of thousands of people, mainly Awami League members, accusing them of murder, corruption, or other crimes. Over 400 Awami League ministers and leaders are facing investigations, it said.
Those with command responsibility for abuses under the previous government should be held to account. However, mass complaints without adequate evidence only undermine justice, Human Rights Watch said.
The interim government should urgently prohibit filing cases against unnamed accused and mass arrest warrants, and revise laws that allow for vague and overly broad charges to target critics, Human Rights Watch said.
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Courts should act speedily to ensure that anyone detained is safely and swiftly produced before a judge. All detention centers should be made public and open to independent inspection.
Member countries should work with the interim government to put in place Human Rights Council mandated monitoring of Bangladesh’s human rights situation by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and establish regular reporting back to the council.
“Bangladesh’s interim government has the monumental task of undoing 15 years of increasingly entrenched autocracy,” Pearson said.
“The interim government should enlist UN support to cement structural reforms so that the abuses of the past do not become a blueprint for Bangladesh’s future.”