Bangladesh's civic space is rated as 'repressed' by the CIVICUS Monitor. While the interim government has taken positive steps to address civic space concerns following mass protests that led to the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government in August 2024, there are ongoing concerns on the need to protect journalists, repeal restrictive laws, ensure an enabling environment for civil society and accountability for past crimes.
Eleven reform commissions established in 2024, as well as the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and both Bangladeshi and international human rights activists, have submitted detailed recommendations to the interim government that are still pending.
In May 2025, Amnesty International called for the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to be reformed to ensure robust oversight, redress and accountability for human rights violations. The NHRC currently stands vacant, following the en-masse resignation of its commissioners in November 2024, three months after the interim government came into power.
In July 2025, the UN Human Rights Office and the government of Bangladesh signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to open a mission in the country to support the promotion and protection of human rights. The new mission will offer training and technical assistance to the authorities across a range of areas, towards meeting the country's national and international human rights commitments, as well as undertake capacity-building for government institutions and civil society actors.
Muhammad Yunus, the interim leader, announced in August 2025 that Bangladesh will hold its first elections since protests toppled its former prime minister in February 2026.
In recent months, concerns have been raised around a draft ordinance on enforced disappearances and that perpetrators of enforced disappearances remain employed in the army and police. The opposition Awami League has been banned and members arrested. The cyber protection ordinance, which falls short of international standards, came into effect and there has been ongoing criminalisation of online commentary. Journalists remain at risk for their reporting while there has been continued crackdown on protests.
In May 2025, civil society groups raised concerns about Bangladesh's draft Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Ordinance 2025. While welcoming the law, the groups expressed concern that the draft, at that time, contained provisions that fail to adhere to international standards.
There were concerns that there had been a lack of extensive consultation with a wide array of stakeholders, including victims, family members, legal experts, and civil society representatives reflecting the plurality of Bangladeshi society. The draft ordinance also limits superior or command responsibility to circumstances where it can be proven that a commander ordered, or was involved in supporting, an enforced disappearance. The civil society groups also called for the body tasked with investigating enforced disappearances be established through legislation, rather than executive decree. Further, the investigating body should have jurisdiction to investigate all cases of enforced disappearances and should exclude the death penalty as a sentencing option.
The ordinance was approved in principle by the interim government on 29th August 2025. The draft states that instead of law enforcement agencies, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will investigate cases related to enforced disappearances.
On 4th June 2025, the Commission of Inquiry on all cases of enforced disappearances submitted its second interim report to the Chief Adviser. The report outlined the operational structure through which enforced disappearances were allegedly carried out. The report implicates members of the police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Detective Branch (DB) of Police, and the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit in approximately 67 percent of the documented cases of enforced disappearance. In several instances, multiple agencies were reportedly involved in the same incident. Particularly disturbing is the evidence of widespread illegal detention at RAB-1's Taskforce Intelligence (TFI) Cell, where over a thousand individuals were held for extended periods--with their eyes and hands bound.
In the same month, Bangladesh's interim government extended the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on all cases of enforced disappearances under Hasina until December 2025. The commission was formed following the fall of the regime in August 2024.
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A delegation led by Grazyna Baranowska, Vice-Chairperson of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, paid a courtesy call on General Waker-uz-Zaman, Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh.
— Beyond Bangladesh (@notundigonto24) June 18, 2025
On June 16, a delegation led by Grazyna Baranowska, Vice-Chairperson of� pic.twitter.com/vdyOcw1TFO
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On 26th June 2025, experts from the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, who met the relatives of victims who are still missing, issued technical advice. In all its meetings, the Working Group heard that victims are deeply afraid to report cases of enforced disappearances or present themselves before the relevant authorities to provide their testimony. This fear is rooted in several factors, but most notably in the fact that many of the alleged perpetrators of enforced disappearances remain employed in the army and police.
Victims stated that it is impossible for them to testify in buildings where the perpetrators may still be present. This concern was also acknowledged by some of the government institutions the Working Group met with. There is also a lack of effective protection mechanisms for victims and witnesses who come forward to testify. Further, there appears to be a lack of acknowledgement of the police's responsibility in implementing protection and prevention measures.
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Bangladesh bans all activities of the former ruling Awami League party, headed by Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted last year in a mass uprising https://t.co/Pg0j96KiNS pic.twitter.com/s4Vtq0sUvB
— TRT World (@trtworld) May 11, 2025
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On 12th May 2025, the interim government ordered a "temporary" ban on the Awami League, using newly introduced powers under a draconian amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act. The ban includes, among other actions, meetings, publications, and online speech supporting the party.
The ban would remain in place until the trial of the party and its leadership over the deaths of hundreds of protesters under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, or ICT Act, is completed, the government said in the statement. After the suspension was announced, the Election Commission stripped the Awami League of its registration.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also raised concerns that police have arbitrarily detained hundreds of alleged Awami League supporters. Many have been charged in separate cases of murder or attempted murder during the 2024 protests and accused the authorities of denying them medical care and bail. HRW said that hundreds may have also been arrested under the draconian Special Powers Act, which allows preventive detention and was used by the previous government to suppress dissent.
HRW said that: "while it is vitally important to hold people accused of serious crimes accountable, many detentions of people allegedly connected to the Awami League appear to be arbitrary and politically motivated."
On 2nd July 2025, the ICT sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in absentia to six months in prison for contempt of court. The contempt charges stem from an audio recording in which Hasina was allegedly heard saying, "There are 227 cases against me, so I now have a licence to kill 227 people". A government forensic report confirmed the tape's authenticity.
On 10th July 2025, the ICT indicted Hasina and two senior officials - former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah al-Mamun - over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the deadly crackdown on 2024 protests.
However, there have been concerns that the tribunal, which was established under Hasina's government in 2010 to address crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 independence war, has been fraught with violations of fair trial standards. The interim government has issued important amendments to the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act, the law that established the tribunal, including provisions for transparency by allowing the presence of international observers and broadcasting of trial proceedings. Amendments also included important requirements for victims and witness protection. Nevertheless, according to the OHCHR and human rights groups, additional amendments are necessary to ensure that trials are fair and carried out in accordance with international standards and the rights enshrined in the constitution. The amended law also retains the death penalty.
In May 2025, the Cyber Protection Ordinance (CPO) that replaced the draconian Cyber Security Act came into effect.
As previously documented, concerns have been raised by civil society groups, media professionals and human rights defenders that some of the repressive provisions of the previous Act have remained that are inconsistent with Bangladesh's international human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and could be used to stifle online expression.
Prior to this, the government continued to arrest and prosecute individuals for their online commentary. On 8th April 2025, an imam was arrested under the Cyber Security Act 2023 by Ashulia police for allegedly making offensive, indecent, and insulting remarks about BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the comment section of a Facebook page.
In July 2025, a special court in Dhaka issued arrest warrants against three journalists, including former editor of Daily Bangladesh Pratidin Naem Nizam, in a case filed under the Digital Security Act. The two other accused are - Bangladesh Pratidin publisher Moynal Hossain Chowdhury and Bangla Insider editor Syed Burhan Kabir. Supreme Court lawyer Barrister M Sarwar Hossain filed the case against seven individuals in February 2022.
In August 2025, the Bangladesh High Court dismissed the case filed in 2018 under the draconian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act against photographer and social activist Shahidul Alam.
Shahidul Alam was arrested by the Bangladeshi authorities on 5th August 2018 on charges under section 57 of the ICT Act for comments he made during an Al-Jazeera English interview about student protests for road safety and the authorities' use of excessive force. If convicted, Alam could have faced up to 14 years in prison. Alam alleged that he was tortured during his detention.
Alam was released on 20th November 2018, five days after the High Court granted him bail. On 7th August 2025, the High Court of Bangladesh dismissed the case against him.
Journalists remain at risk in Bangladesh and the country is ranked in 149th place out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in August 2025 that journalists arrested on accusations of instigating murders in separate cases remain behind bars, and the repeated use of such charges against journalists who are widely seen as sympathetic to the former regime appear to be politically motivated censorship.
In addition to such legal charges, CPJ has documented physical attacks against journalists, threats from political activists, and exile. At least 25 journalists are under investigation for genocide by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal - a charge that has been used to target figures linked to the former Hasina government.
In 2025, reporters across Bangladesh have faced violence and harassment while covering political events, with CPJ documenting at least 10 such incidents, most of which were carried out by members or affiliates of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its student wing, Chhatra Dal. Others have faced threats from supporters of different political parties and the student groups that led the protests against Hasina.
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#Bangladesh🇧🇩: Bangladeshi journalist Khandaker Shah Alam was violently attacked and killed on June 25 in Nabinagar Upazila, in Dhaka�s northeast, in a targeted retaliation for his reporting.https://t.co/HTsaLAr6bl
— IFJ Asia-Pacific (@ifjasiapacific) July 22, 2025
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Khandaker Shah Alam, a correspondent for the Daily Matrijagat, was killed in June 2025 after being attacked in Nabinagar in retaliation for his reporting on a case that landed the offender in jail. His assailant was arrested shortly afterwards and jailed for manslaughter.
Journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin, a staff reporter for the Bangla-language daily Protidiner Kagoj in Gazipur, a suburb of Dhaka, was chased and hacked to death by a group of armed assailants on 7th August 2025, according to CPJ. Tuhin had been filming an incident in which several armed men attempted to assault a man following a dispute with a woman. Police told the outlet they believe Tuhin was targeted because he recorded the incident on his phone.
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Awami League govt had been on an increasingly aggressive trajectory towards building a powerful surveillance state. Here is how the Mass surveillance system works - https://t.co/aacoSWQbpr#bangladesh #awamileague #surveillancesystems #investigestion pic.twitter.com/HhHUoWVB4d
— The Daily Star (@dailystarnews) August 12, 2025
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In August 2025, an investigation by the Daily Star highlighted the state surveillance system built by the previous Awami League government. The report outlines how the ousted regime constructed digital infrastructure capable of tracking, monitoring and intercepting end-to-end communication as well as targeting specific individuals.
According to the investigation, between 2016 and 2024, the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and various units of the police collectively purchased surveillance equipment worth Tk 1,382 crore (USD 113,781). These included IMSI catchers, GPS trackers, mobile and vehicle-mounted signal jammers, speaker recognition systems, and tools capable of intercepting encrypted communication and injecting spyware.
This massive infrastructure was built to actively and passively threaten national security. In reality, it was also used to target individuals for dubious arrests, enforced disappearances, and even extrajudicial killings. What was supposed to protect the people ultimately became a tool of oppression against critics and political opponents.
The deadly crackdown on student-led protests in Bangladesh in 2024 was authorised by then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, according to audio of one of her phone calls verified by BBC Eye.
In the audio, which was leaked online in March, Hasina says she authorised her security forces to "use lethal weapons" against protesters and that "wherever they find [them], they will shoot".
Prosecutors in Bangladesh plan to use the recording as crucial evidence against Hasina, who is being tried in absentia at a special tribunal for crimes against humanity.
The leaked audio of Hasina's conversation with an unidentified senior government official is the most significant evidence yet that she gave direct authorisation to shoot anti-government protesters, tens of thousands of whom had taken to the streets.
The leaked 18th July 2024 recording was voice matched by the Criminal Investigation Department in the Bangladesh Police with known audio of Sheikh Hasina's voice. The BBC conducted its own independent verification by sharing the recording with audio forensics experts Earshot, who found no evidence the speech had been edited or manipulated and said it was highly unlikely to have been synthetically generated.
In March 2025, it was reported that National Garment Workers' Federation (NGWF) union leaders in Bangladesh, Kabir Hossain, joint secretary of the National Garment Workers' Federation (NGWF), union president Khairuzzaman Sabuj and general secretary Nur Habib of the union at the Polo Composite Knit Industries were unlawfully detained over a false case filed by Polo Composite Knit Industries.
The arrests came four days after protests at the factory on 12th March 2025 against unpaid wages and illegal dismissals, Police, military personnel, and local enforcers conducted a violent raid on the NGWF office in Savar. Officials seized all union documents and vandalised the premises.
Prior to the arrests, management hired thugs to attack the proposed union committee members. Several workers were physically assaulted, their lives were threatened, and they were forcibly expelled from the factory in a clear attempt to dismantle the union effort through fear and violence.
Security forces clashed with supporters of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in July 2025, leaving at least four people dead and many injured.
According to reports, violence erupted in the southern town of Gopalganj when members of Hasina's Awami League tried to disrupt a rally by the National Citizens Party (NCP), which is made up of students who spearheaded the unrest that toppled the leader in 2024.
TV footage showed pro-Hasina activists armed with sticks attacking police and setting vehicles on fire as NCP leaders arrived at the new party's "March to Rebuild the Nation" programme commemorating the uprising. At least four people were killed and dozens injured.
Human rights body Ain o Salish Kendra demanded the immediate formation of an independent, neutral, and comprehensive investigation committee to thoroughly probe the incident. The group also demanded the identification of those responsible for the attack on NCP leaders and supporters and an investigation to determine any possible negligence on the part of authorities responsible for ensuring the security of their rally.
Hundreds of protesters rallied in Bangladesh in July 2025 to demand accountability after an air force fighter jet crashed into a Dhaka school, killing 31 people, including 25 students. The military said the plane had suffered mechanical failure.
In the capital, hundreds of protesting students, some of them waving sticks, broke through the main gate of the federal government secretariat, demanding the resignation of the education adviser, according to local TV footage. The protesting students called for those killed and injured to be named, compensation for families, the decommissioning of what they said were old and risky jets, and a change in air force training procedures.
Police fired tear gas and used sound grenades to disperse the crowd, leaving about 80 students injured.
The interim government established a Police Reform Commission that has presented 108 recommendations to transform the police into an accountable, impartial and transparent institution. Key proposals made in January 2025 include revising outdated laws such as the colonial-era 1861 Police Act and the 1898 Criminal Procedure Code, creating an independent commission to oversee the police and enhancing police training and human rights practices. The Police Reform Commission also recommended reassessment of the necessity of the notorious Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) by reviewing its past activities and allegations of human rights violations. The RAB has a track record of committing extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture with impunity.
However, there has been pushback from the Home Ministry on proposals to reform laws and establish an independent police body. Further, the National Consensus Commission, which was tasked with reviewing and implementing various reform proposals, notably excluded the recommendations of the Police Reform Commission from its structured framework.
Further, it is believed that the lack of the rule of law and distrust of public institutions has led to the intensification of mob violence against women, minorities, houses of worship and the media. Attacks have become disturbingly routine, sometimes taking place even in the presence of the police. Human rights groups say the state's failure to act swiftly and decisively has to some extent emboldened mobs and contributed to a climate where vigilante justice is becoming commonplace. According to Ain o Salish Kendra, a human rights group, at least 179 people were killed in mob attacks between August 2024 and 23rd June 2025.