Bangladesh’s Current State of Human Rights

Introduction

Bangladesh is undergoing a transition after several decades under increasingly repressive rule. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following the mass protests that took place last year. The protests began on July 15th, 2024 when the employment quota reserving 30 percent of government jobs for the descendants of Bangladesh’s independence war veterans was reinstated (Erum and Corea, 2024). The government responded to the protests by implementing internet shut-offs, a nationwide curfew, and widespread use of deadly force. What began as peaceful protests quickly turned fatal with police using excessive force resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people (Ethirajan and Ritchie, 2024).

Since the resignation of Prime Minister Hasina, Bangladesh has been under an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, who has promised to restore democracy in the country. He has since established several commissions to reform various government sectors. The Yunus administration has released people detained during the protests and invited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to investigate human rights violations that occurred during the protests. Despite these revisions, there are reports that the Yunus administration is trying to silence and punish those who supported Hasina and the party she leads, the Awami League (Bleckner, 2025). This has prompted concern from several human rights organisations that the interim government is slipping back into repressive rule and infringing on freedom of speech. 

Monitoring human rights during times of political transition is critical in ensuring that they do not occur again, especially since the previous administration has committed human rights abuses. The Hasina administration has benefitted from impunity for many years, and it is vital to monitor that the new administration does not continue this pattern. This article explores the state of human rights in Bangladesh since the interim government took over, primarily focusing on the rights of minorities, the treatment of detained people, and freedom of expression. To better understand the current human rights situation in the country, this article will discuss the Hasina administration.

 1 Democracy

1.1. Upholding Democracy

Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy that holds elections to vote for a Prime Minister and seats in parliament (Jatiya Sangsad). Hasina and the party she leads, the Awami League, secured its fourth consecutive term in 2024. Since taking office in 2009, the country has experienced a democratic backlash due to the suppression of speech, restriction of dissent, and election rigging (Thapa, 2025). The most recent election in 2024 was met with months of violent protests and the arrest of those opposing Hasina’s administration. The other main political party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), called for the formation of a neutral caretaker government to administer the elections to ensure that the election was free and fair. However, Hasina’s administration denied the request (Pandya, 2024). The BNP boycotted the election, resulting in the Awami League gaining a majority of the seats in parliament. Previous elections were administered by an interim, nonpartisan government, meaning that power would routinely alternate between the BNP and the Awami League. This system was abolished by the Awami League in 2011 after the previous caretaker government held power past the three mandated months and delayed elections by almost two years. Since then, the Awami League has remained in power. 

Freedom House (2024) has found that the Awami League has consolidated political power through the harassment of the BNP. Freedom House, which measures the state of political rights and civil liberties, has designated Bangladesh as ‘partly free’ in 2024. The new interim government plans to hold elections after repairing the justice system and several other institutions. The administration hopes to hold elections in 2025 or early 2026, with parties such as the BNP urging that the election be held this year. The rigging of elections has fostered distrust in democratic norms and institutions within the public, which will pose significant challenges when elections are finally held.  

2. Human Rights

2.1. Freedom of Expression, Free Press, and the Rights of Journalists

Freedom of speech and free press in Bangladesh were severely censored during the Hasina administration. During her time in office, her administration passed a series of bills such as the Digital Security Act (DSA) and the Information and Communication Technology Act, which aimed at silencing criticism of the government. Under the DSA, hundreds of people were sued, and several others were arrested, where they were tortured for information. The DSA was repealed and replaced with the Cyber Security Act (CSA) in 2023. These laws fostered fear of speaking out against the government and infringed on freedom of speech, affecting everyone, including journalists. This has cultivated an environment where journalists in Bangladesh have faced harassment, legal persecution, and death. At least 200 journalists were injured and five lost their lives during the protests in July (Alam, 2024). Alongside passing legislation that silenced criticism, Hasina gained control of the media by granting licenses to television channels that supported the government’s narrative while suppressing news that could provoke her administration (Alam, 2024). A few independent media companies still operate in Bangladesh, however, they are met with hostility if they criticise Hasina’s administration or the Awami Party. These factors fostered an environment where freedom of expression and free media were suppressed.

Since taking office, Yunus has created a panel to monitor the harassment of journalists. Furthermore, the administration carried out investigations which are still ongoing into those killed during the protests. Yunus also stripped over 160 press accreditations of reporters who supported the Hasina administration. Reporters can work without these press accreditations. However, they are not allowed into government buildings and official press conferences, severely affecting their ability to do their jobs. Alongside the revocation of press accreditations, there are reports that journalists who supported the Hasina administration faced increasing persecution from the Yunus administration (Ahmed, 2024). The action prompted criticism from organisations such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) who condemned the administration for using the withdrawal of press accreditations as a punitive measure. Yunus’ administration has since repealed the CSA and replaced it with a Cyber Protection Ordinance, which contains many of the same harmful provisions as its predecessors. In 2024, Bangladesh ranked 165th out of 180 countries on the RSF World Press Freedom Index. Despite new leadership taking over, attacks on journalists have continued, raising concerns over the future of press freedom and freedom of expression in the country. 

2.2. The Rights of Detainees and Arbitrary Arrests

In July 2024, the Hasina administration faced mass protests due to reinstating an employment quota reserving 30 percent of government jobs to the descendants of Bangladesh’s independence war veterans (Erum and Corea, 2024). The student-led demonstrations began peacefully until security forces and members of the Chhatra League attacked protesters. The attacks on students caused public outrage, resulting in further protests against the Hasina administration. The government responded by implementing a nationwide curfew, an internet shutdown, and using lethal force. A United Nations (2025) report estimates that as many as 1,400 people may have been killed between July 1st and August 15th, and thousands were injured, the vast majority of whom were shot by Bangladesh’s security forces. Additionally, there was an increase in forced disappearances during Hasina’s time in office. During her first year in office, there were three reported cases of forced disappearances compared to 131 cases in her next term in 2014 (Human Rights Watch, 2024). Alongside the forced disappearances, there have also been several allegations of torture of detained people in prison during Hasina’s administration. These cases are hardly ever investigated or prosecuted. The country has ignored requests from the UN Committee Against Torture to follow up on its recommendation, which includes the independent monitoring of detention centres and an investigation of all allegations of torture or ill-treatment by law enforcement officials (Ganguly, 2023). The culture of impunity in Bangladesh has only made matters worse when it comes to the persecution of human rights violations. 

The Yunus administration has committed to pursuing accountability for human rights violations committed by the previous government. During their first few weeks in office, the administration released thousands of people detained during the protests. Reports of more than 272,000 people, primarily political opponents, have been implicated in 1,598 criminal cases in the first 100 days of Yunus’ administration (Ahmed, 2024). At least 30 police officials were detained for using unlawful force during the protests (Bleckner, 2024). The Yunus administration has also invited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to investigate human rights violations during the protests. The administration has also signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. Consequently, a five-person commission was created to investigate reports of enforced disappearances between January 2010 and August 2024. Despite these improvements, there have been reports of police returning to abusive tactics from the previous administration and instead targeting members and supporters of the Awami League. Since the interim government took over, more than 1,000 police cases have been filed against mostly Awami League members, accusing them of crimes such as murder and corruption (Bleckner, 2025). The charging of Awami League supporters raises some concerns that the new interim government is following in the steps of Hasina’s administration.

2.3. The Rights of Religious and Ethnic Minorities

Bangladesh consists of a few religious minority groups. The majority of the country identifies as Muslim, constituting 91 percent of the population, while eight percent of the population identifies as Hindus, making up the second largest religious group (U.S. Department of State, 2023). The rest of the population consists of Christians and Buddhists. The population of Hindus has decreased by over 13.5 percent due to emigration in less than 100 years caused by continued discrimination, land grabbing, and the growing threat of violence (Minority Rights Group, 2018). Ain o Salish Kendra, a Bangladeshi human rights group, reported at least 3,679 attacks on the Hindu community since January 2013, including vandalism, arson, and targeted violence (Human Rights Watch, 2021). Investigations and prosecutions of these crimes are usually overlooked. 

There are also several ethnic minority groups in Bangladesh, with the majority ethnicity being Bengali, constituting 98 percent of the population. Approximately 1.8 percent of the population are Indigenous Adivasis (also referred to as Jumma) who primarily live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and the plains of the north and southeast (Minority Rights, 2019). The government recognises 50 ethnic groups but does not recognise the concept of Indigenous peoples.  Furthermore, Bangladesh has not yet adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. One of the main issues Indigenous people face in Bangladesh is land rights. The Indigenous people living in the CHT have made several complaints regarding land taken by the army or by Bengali settlers who arrived during the war in the 1990s or earlier (Amnesty International, 2017). The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord of 1997 was established to resolve land disputes, however, these issues still persist. As of now, Indigenous minorities living in the CHT continue to endure discrimination and violence at the hands of authorities (Bleckner, 2025).

A Human Rights Watch report found that attacks against Hindu and Ahmadiyya communities increased after Hasina’s resignation (Bleckner, 2025). The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council accused the interim government of failing to protect religious and ethnic minorities while using state institutions to suppress minority groups (Alam, 2025). The council added that over 2,000 incidents of communal violence took place between August 4th, 2024 and August 20th, 2024 (Alam, 2025). An allegation that the government denies, claiming the killings were not communal violence but rather politically motivated attacks. Hindu activists have staged protests around the country since August to request a set of eight demands, including a law to protect minorities. Thus, attacks and discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities continue to be an issue under the Yunus administration.

Conclusion

The resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given people hope that Bangladesh’s repressive rule has finally come to an end. The foundation of democracy and human rights was already eroding when the interim government took over. Yunus’ administration has made efforts to uphold human rights and democratic practices in its short time in power. However, much work remains to be done to enforce the rights of minorities, the rights of detainees, and freedom of speech. It may be too early to tell whether the human rights situation will improve under the new interim government. However, the crackdown on political opponents who supported the Hasina administration and the Awami League calls for concern. While Hasina and her cabinet members should be held accountable for crimes committed, this should not be extended to journalists who supported her regime, especially considering that she has passed several bills to silence criticism with persecution. The next administration to take over will have to work diligently to restore democratic practices and gain the public’s trust after several years of repressive rule. 

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