Bangladesh: Civil society decries mass arrests amid worsening human rights situation
Startingon 30 January 2018, authorities began arresting supporters of the oppositionBangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), ahead of the verdict in the allegedcorruption case against BNP leader Khaleda Begum Zia, which was delivered on 8February. Over the course of a month, almost 5,000 opposition supporters,including ordinary people who were suspected of being opposition sympathizers,were arrested throughout almost all of the country’s districts. Most of themremain detained in prisons throughout Bangladesh.
Thislarge-scale crackdown on opposition parties, government critics, and activistsis one of the most severe attacks on fundamental freedoms in Bangladesh overthe past few years. While authorities claim the arrests were carried out toprevent violence from erupting in connection with the verdict, it is apparentthat these actions were politically motivated. In addition, there have beennumerous reports of torture and ill-treatment of those detained.
Inthe most serious incident, on 12 March 2018, Zakir Hossain Milon, theVice-President of the Dhaka North Unit of the BNP’s student wing JatiotabadiChhatra Dal, died while in police custody. He had been arrested on 6 March uponreturning from a BNP event at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka. Zakir’s familymembers claim that he died as a result of torture.
BetweenJanuary 2009 and February 2018, 120 people have died as a result of systematiccustodial torture in Bangladesh, and dozens have become permanently disabled asa result of kneecappings while in police custody. Over the same period, lawenforcement agencies have allegedly been involved in 422 cases of enforceddisappearances and 1,480 cases of extra-judicial killings.
TheSolidarity Group for Bangladesh calls on the Bangladeshi government to upholdits obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumanor Degrading Treatment or Punishment, fully investigate the death in custody ofZakir Hossain Milon, and all other allegations of torture or ill-treatment indetention, and take appropriate measures to ensure it does not occur in thefuture.
Meanwhile,the government has continued to take worrying steps to further restrict theright to freedom of opinion and expression through the introduction of new repressivelegislation. The 2018 Digital Security Bill, which was approved by the Cabineton 29 January 2018 and is likely to be approved by Parliament in the comingmonths, is inconsistent with the Constitution and the country’s obligationsunder international law. The proposed legislation contains overly broad groundsfor restrictions on freedom of speech and prescribes lengthy prison sentencesfor violators.
InOctober 2017, the Solidarity Group for Bangladesh made a joint submission to the United Nations (UN)Human Rights Council ahead ofBangladesh’s third Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which will take place on 14May 2018. The joint submission, which covered the period from 1 May 2013 to 30September 2017, highlighted increased restrictions on civic space, thecontinued use of torture, and violations of the right to freedom of opinion andexpression. In addition, it underscored Bangladesh’s failure to implement manyof the 171 recommendations it accepted during its second UPR in April 2013. Thejoint submission also made recommendations for the Bangladeshi government tohold free and fair elections, criminalize enforced disappearances, and ensurethe independence of criminal justice institutions.
With a general election scheduled to be held at the end of 2018, theSolidarity Group for Bangladesh calls on the international community to pressthe Bangladeshi government to address serious and ongoing human rights abuses,including those detailed in the Joint Submission. UN member states shouldreiterate their human rights concerns during the upcoming UPR and makerecommendations to Bangladesh that address the most recent developments.
[1]The Solidarity Group for Bangladesh is a group ofcivil society organizations established in March 2017 to advocate for therespect for human rights in Bangladesh. The group comprises the followingorganizations: the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD); theAsian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), the Asian Legal ResourceCentre (ALRC); CIVICUS Global Alliance; the International Federation for HumanRights (FIDH); Odhikar; the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights; and the World OrganizationAgainst Torture (OMCT). The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) joinedthe Solidarity Group for Bangladesh in 2018.