Bangladesh has the capacity to patrol land and maritime borders and has improved cargo and passenger airport screening with updated equipment, procedures, and increased staff, a latest report released today by the US says. Airline security is not as strong, Bangladesh has initiated e-passports for all and shares information with INTERPOL, but has no dedicated terrorist watchlist, according to the report. A US “Alert List” project is under government consideration. Read: UN reaffirms continued support to Bangladesh in overcoming unprecedented challenges Bangladesh does not systematically use API/PNR passenger information to screen travelers before flights arrive, the report claimed. In 2019, the ATT sentenced to death seven terrorists for their roles in the 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attack. The Department of State issued the 2021 Country Reports on Terrorism (CRT), which provide a detailed look at the counterterrorism environment in that year. Read More: Dhaka, Washington discuss cooperation on defence, IPS, maritime security Each year, the CRT provides insight on important issues in the fight against terrorism and helps the United States make informed decisions about policies, programs, and resource allocations to build counterterrorism capacity and resilience around the globe.

Dhaka, Apr 16 (UNB) – BNP standing committee members have hailed the US State Department's report on Bangladesh’s human rights practices as they think it has exposed the  genuine scenario of the country’s  judiciary, elections and the human rights situation. The BNP policymakers at their meeting on Friday also viewed that the allegations of serious violation of human rights by the current ‘fascist’ regime and making opposition leaders and activists disappear and killing and torturing them by law enforcers have been established as truth internationally through the US report, said party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul. Speaking at a press conference at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, he said, “The US sanctions on the RAB and its seven (former and current) officials established that truth further.” Read: BNP urges judiciary to work impartially, independently Earlier on Tuesday night, The US State Department released the 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, an annual report. The reports also highlighted the rights issues, including harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, arbitrary arrests or detentions, political prisoners, serious problems with the independence of the judiciary and arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy. Fakhrul said their standing committee meeting thinks the US report revealed the real truth regarding the extrajudicial killings, deaths in custody as a result of brutal torture by law enforcement agencies, the arrest of protesters' parents, siblings, influencing the judicial process, especially sentencing Begum Khaleda Zia in a ‘false’ case and sending her to jail due to political influence. “It has been now proved that this unelected and immoral Awami League government wants to hang onto power unjustly by using the state machinery,” he said. The BNP leader said the US report also described the 2018 election in Bangladesh as a farce since it was marred by massive rigging, terrorism and stuffing of ballots at the night before the voting, intimidating voters and preventing them from coming to the polling stations. He said the US report also suggests that free, fair and participatory elections are never possible under the ‘unelected’ Awami government. Read: Opposition being deprived of justice: BNP Fakhrul said their meeting voiced concern over a report of Transparency International Bangladesh on irregularities of Tk 23,000 crore in procuring vaccines and tackling the Covid situation. He said the meeting also expressed worries as a US court dismissed a Bangladesh Bank case against a Philippines business entity, which was accused in the unprecedented cyber-heist faced by the central bank six years ago. The BNP leader said they think the case was filed with the US court to hush the money heist incident.

The human rights situation in Bangladesh is better than the United States in many instances, said Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud on Thursday dismissing the report of the US on human rights issues in Bangladesh. "We do not agree with the US human rights report," the minister told the reporters after attending a discussion 'Mahe Ramadan and Mass Media' and Iftar Mahfil organised by Bangladesh Sampadak Forum in the city. Also read: Home Minister dismisses US HR report as misinformation The data in this report might have been collected from certain sources. And the sources are one-sided and provide a lot of misinformation, he added. “In fact, in many cases, the human rights situation in Bangladesh is better than in the United States, though not in all cases." "There are no prisons in our country like the way people are tortured at Guantanamo Bay of the US," said the minister. The unarmed black man George Floyd had been pinned down and killed by a police officer in the US, he added. Hasan Mahmud further said four persons were killed even in the US parliament which never happened in Bangladesh. "The judicial department is working very independently in Bangladesh," he said, adding that they are examining the report. The minister also said the relation between Bangladesh and the US is very close. Besides, the security force mentioned in the report (RAB) has also taken technical assistance from the US. Also read:Dhaka trashes US HR report as “lie, wrong and misinformation” "I think there is an opportunity to correct any shortcomings in the future if we have any help with this technical assistance and other issues," he added. Meanwhile, the World Bank hinted at higher growth of Bangladesh economy this year in a recent report, he said. "Those who criticize our country all the time, I hope they will stop criticizing after this report," he said, referring to the World Bank's report as the country's economy has turned around after the pandemic.

BNP on Thursday praised the US report on Bangladesh’s human rights practices as the party said it has exposed the misdeeds and ‘deadly misrule’ of the current Awami League government. "The US State Department’s human rights report has said Begum Khaleda Zia was sentenced for political purposes while the judiciary is in the hands of the government and the country's security forces are involved in killings, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings,” said BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi. Also read: BNP urges ACC to probe ruling party’s alleged corruption Speaking at a press conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, he said the US report also said the law enforcers are being used to eliminate the opposition as the freedom of speech has been squeezed in the county. “I would like to say that this report has revealed the misdeeds of the Awami government. This report also suggests that the government has not been able to cover up any misdeeds and its deadly misrule by even hiring lobbyists spending thousands of dollars,” the BNP leader said. Earlier on Tuesday night, The US State Department released the 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, an annual compendium on the situation of human rights in some 198 states and territories worldwide. The reports also highlighted the rights issues, including harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, arbitrary arrests or detentions, political prisoners, serious problems with the independence of the judiciary and arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy. The government, however, on Wednesday trashed the US report saying it contains some “misinformation” collected primarily from the “anti-government propaganda” machines. Rizvi said, the current government which usurped power through night-time voting has imprisoned Khaleda Zia by arbitrarily using the country's courts of law to bury democracy and human rights. Also read: Huge amount of money being siphoned abroad from mega projects: BNP He bemoaned that Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman who is not involved in politics at all, has also been implicated in a fictitious case as part of the government’s campaign against Zia family. “Begum Khaleda Zia is the victim of the government's political vengeance. The case filed against her was politically motivated. She has been deprived of advanced treatment. The democratic world is not confused by the propaganda against Khaleda Zia,” Rizvi observed. He said the injustice, misrule and repressive acts are being exposed to the global community, no matter how hard this government tries to cover up those.

The government of Bangladesh demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period towards preventing human trafficking, earning itself an upgrade to Tier 2 in a ranking of countries fighting trafficking, says a US report.   These efforts included convicting more traffickers, modestly increasing the number of victims identified, acceding to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol, and at the close of the reporting period establishing seven anti-trafficking tribunals as stipulated in Bangladesh’s anti-trafficking law.   In addition, the government continued to allow humanitarian access to the Rohingya camps, according to US State Department report on Trafficking in Persons released on Thursday.