Bangladesh: Criminalisation of activists and crackdown on protests continue following one-sided elections

 Bangladesh: Criminalisation of activists and crackdown on protests continue following one-sided elections

Bangladeshi Nobel peace laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus in front of the court in Dhaka, January 2024 (Photo Credit: REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain)

In December 2023, the CIVICUS Monitor downgraded Bangladesh’s civic space to ‘closed’, its worst rating. The downgrade is the result of a massive government crackdown on opposition politicians and independent critics in the run-up to national elections.

Over the year, the authorities targeted human rights defenders, protesters and other critics, using intimidation, violence, arrest and torture. Authorities also targeted journalists exposing state abuses and shut down critical media outlets. A new Cyber Security Act, rather than freeing online expression, retained most of the repressive language of the previous draconian Digital Security Act used to criminalise thousands of online critics.

As documented by Human Rights Watch, the authorities tightened repression ahead of national elections. Security forces carried out mass arrests of opposition members and in some cases responded to protests with excessive force. The arrests were to ensure convictions of opposition members so they would be disqualified from contesting the elections.

With the opposition boycotting the elections – due to the government’s refusal to allow a neutral caretaker administration to oversee the elections – Sheikh Hasina secured her fifth term as Bangladeshi prime minister. Hasina’s Awami League (AL) won 222 seats while independent candidates secured a total of 63 seats. The Jatiya Party managed to secure just 11 of the 300 parliamentary seats.

Almost all the winning independent contenders were people who had been rejected by the ruling party but were asked by the party leadership to stand as “dummy candidates” to give the election a competitive veneer in the eyes of the world. Official figures suggested a low voter turnout of about 40 percent, though critics say even those numbers may be inflated.

Following the elections, UN experts urged the government to carry out major human rights reforms to reverse repressive trends in the country and restore political dialogue and participation. The UN experts were alarmed at reports of widespread attacks, harassment and intimidation of civil society, human rights defenders, journalists and political activists, and said that in the lead up to the elections, reportedly some 25,000 opposition leaders and supporters were arrested.

On 26th March 2024, Bangladesh’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council was adopted. Among the recommendations the government did not accept were calls to amend or repeal the Cyber Security Act, to establish an independent monitoring and investigation mechanism to address allegations of human rights violations committed by police and military personnel and to accept visits by UN special procedures. However, the government accepted recommendations to ensure that human rights defenders, journalists and civil society have a safe and enabling environment and can operate freely without fear of reprisals.

There was a crackdown on the opposition around the elections, including cases of arbitrary arrests, torture and unlawful killings. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was convicted and sentenced on frivolous grounds and is facing more charges, while activist Shamim Ashraf was charged under the new Cyber Security Act for some posters critical of the local government. There were restrictions on the media and attacks on journalists around the elections. The police also cracked down on protests by garment workers and the opposition.