Prison vans transport former ministers and leaders of the Bangladesh Awami League party to jail after their court hearing from the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on November 18, 2024.
© Mamunur Rashid/NurPhoto via AP
(London) – Bangladeshi authorities should immediately take steps to end the prolonged pretrial detention of politicians and others linked to the deposed Awami League government, Human Rights Watch said today. Police detained thousands of party officials, activists, and supporters after Sheikh Hasina was forced to step down as prime minister in August 2024 following weeks of protests, and hundreds remain in prison without being charged with any crime.
Though some officials may have been complicit in the Hasina government’s serious rights violations, many were arrested without apparent evidence on allegations of murdering protesters. Their family members and lawyers allege that the detainees, many of them older people, some with serious health conditions, have been denied basic rights including bail and medical care. At least 10 Awami League office holders, most of whom were not charged with any crime, have died in prison since Prime Minister Tarique Rahman took office in February 2026.
“Under one government after another, hundreds of opposition members have been locked up without evidence or due process,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has pledged reform, and as a first step he should end the prolonged arbitrary detention of political opponents.”
Instead of pursuing reforms, the government’s new National Human Rights Commission bill—if adopted in its current form—would prevent the new commission from investigating alleged arbitrary arrests. Those detained without charge include former Awami League members of pa
