The Awami League regime, which sought global recognition as a model of governance, has ironically left behind a legacy marred by unprecedented brutality against its own citizens. The scale of state violence and repression under Sheikh Hasina’s rule rivals some of the worst autocracies in the world, like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak. Bangladesh is also a unique example, where a military dictator Gen HM Ershad, succeeded in resettling him in a democratic political framework, but a popular leader who jointly led movement for restoration of democracy, degraded herself turning into a worse dictator.  The recent student led uprising, evolving into a broader civilian insurrection, has been dubbed by some as the "Gen Z Revolution." However, lacking a coherent revolutionary agenda or a well defined path for enacting fundamental change, this movement remains more of a chaotic and prolonged transition towards democracy than a fully fledged revolution. Consequently, the pursuit of justice for...

After four years of consultations with UN experts, Law Minister Anisul Haque has now outrightly rejected the most crucial part of their recommendations, saying the government won’t repeal sections 21 and 28 of the Digital Security Act (DSA) . He promised more consultations on amending other parts of the law and stopping its abuse. We learnt of this after the recommendations made by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) were published in the Bangla daily Prothom Alo .  Before delving into the OHCHR’s recommendations , it must be noted here that well before the DSA was enacted, there were widespread concerns about its likely impact on freedom of expression as the proposed provisions appeared harsher than the preceding law, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act 2006. Media representatives including the Editors’ Council were at the forefront of demanding amendments in the draft legislation. They identified sections 21, 25, 28, 31, 32 and 43 of t...

When Bangladesh needs to prove that it has been listening to the concern about respecting human rights and uphold rule of law, it has done quite the opposite. The reactions coming from the United Nations’ human rights body, Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) and other international rights groups to the deregistration of Odhikar, a leading human rights organisation in Bangladesh, make it clear that no one believes this action is anything other than a punishment for the work it does. The refusal to renew Odhikar’s operating licence follows a letter sent to the OHCHR on May 12, in which the government accused the organisation of ‘disproportionate bias and prejudice against Bangladesh, in particular the ruling party Awami League’ and argued that the UN human rights mechanism should disqualify and shun it as a source of information.  The letter was written as an official response to a joint urgent appeal issued by the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, the Wo...