Human Rights Watch urges Bangladesh to end indefinite pretrial detention of political opponents

DHAKA: Bangladesh 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 on Monday.

The 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.”

“The Bangladeshi government should order independent inquiries into all prison deaths under its watch and stop arbitrarily detaining people for prolonged periods without charge.”
– Human Rights Watch https://t.co/xWUL1Zynm7#Bangladesh #BangladeshCrisis #HumanRights

— Bangladesh Awami League (@albd1971) August 24, 2026

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 parliament, other former lawmakers who supported Hasina’s administration, and activists, officials, and journalists who had backed the Awami League government. Others, including members of the security forces, are accused of serious international crimes, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and disappearances. Some are also accused of corruption, HRW said.

Prosecutors have repeatedly sought to deny bail in cases in which no evidence has been produced. The lower magistrate and district courts have consistently refused bail, and High Court bail orders have been circumvented as government authorities file fresh cases.

In one example, ABM Khairul Haque, 82, a former chief justice, was arrested on July 24, 2025, for allegedly murdering a protester. Over the following three months, he was arrested in four more cases, including for corruption. The lower courts denied bail in each of these, though his family told Human Rights Watch he was in poor health and had a heart attack while in prison. The High Court granted the bail applications, but on March 10, 2026, the day before the court granted bail in the final case, the police applied for him to be arrested in two new cases, preventing his release.

The lower courts refused bail in both of these new cases, and the High Court on May 12 granted him bail. But before Haque could be released, police filed another murder charge. They alleged he was at a murder scene at the same time as an earlier murder alleged against him, though the two locations are over 10 kilometres apart.

The process was repeated once again, with the High Court granting bail and the police, for the third time, filing a further case, with the authorities this time seeking to evade a new High Court bail ruling requiring the police not to “arrest and harass” Haque “unless there is a specific case against him.” He was finally released on August 19 after intervention by the Appellate Division. Throughout this period, he was not charged with any offence.

Lawyers for other detainees told Human Rights Watch that they now advise their clients not to seek bail, as if they succeed, the police simply file a new case against them.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, a domestic court to prosecute international crimes, allows detention without charge beyond one year only in “exceptional circumstances” that are set out in writing. The tribunal has not released on bail any of the over 160 people it has detained, who have no right to appeal bail rejections.

Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, 81, a former Hasina adviser, was first detained by the tribunal in October 2024 and has now spent 22 months in custody without charge. When he sought bail in April 2026, the tribunal neither allowed bail nor set out any “exceptional circumstances”. It instead adjourned proceedings twice, most recently until the end of August.

A former parliament member, Kamal Ahmed Majumder, 75, has also been detained by the tribunal for 22 months. In jail, his family told Human Rights Watch that he suffered gangrene on his foot, requiring amputation of three toes, and broke his hip when he fell. The tribunal refused bail in July.

Many families say that their detained relatives are not receiving adequate medical care. Activists have called for the release of Shahriar Kabir, 75, who suffers from chronic ailments and needs a wheelchair. RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury, 71, has been in detention for 22 months without charge and has serious heart problems.

Ramesh Chandra Sen, 85, a former Awami League lawmaker, who was arrested in August 2024 for three cases of murder and an explosives case, remained in detention until his death on February 7, 2026. His family said he was denied proper medication and refused bail. Similar concerns relate to the death of SM Ziaul Haque Zia, 65, a Jamalpur district Awami League member who was already in poor health when he was detained on January 6. He died on April 14, after he was denied bail.

International human rights law permits some use of pretrial incarceration or release with conditions. However, such detention should be the exception, not the rule, and should be determined on an individual basis. A judge or equivalent should review the detention of every detained person to consider the legality and necessity of their detention, and anyone so detained is entitled to a speedy trial or release. Any pretrial restrictions must be consistent with the right to liberty, the presumption of innocence, and the right to equality.

“A justice system that lets older people die in custody before they are ever charged is not treating pretrial detention as the exceptional measure it always should be,” Pearson said. “The Bangladeshi government should order independent inquiries into all prison deaths under its watch and stop arbitrarily detaining people for prolonged periods without charge.” (ANI)