Bangladesh authorities are carrying out mass arrests of political opposition in a clear attempt to quash the opposition and eliminate competition ahead of the general elections, said Human Rights Watch on Sunday.
According to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, about half of its five million members face politically motivated prosecution. “The arrests, they are not leaving anyone behind, from senior level to the ground level,” one activist told Human Rights Watch.
Bangladesh authorities are targeting opposition leaders and supporters ahead of the general elections slated for January 7, 2024, Human Rights Watch said. The authorities should impartially investigate all instances of violence, including cases in which each side has blamed the other.
Almost 10,000 opposition activists have been arrested since a planned rally by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on October 28. At least 16 people have been killed during ongoing violence, including 2 police officers. Over 5,500 people have been injured.
“The government is claiming to commit to free and fair elections with diplomatic partners while the state authorities are simultaneously filling prisons with the ruling Awami League’s political opponents,” said Julia Bleckner, senior Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Diplomatic partners should make clear that the government’s autocratic crackdown will jeopardize future economic cooperation.”
Based on interviews with 13 witnesses and analysis of videos and police reports, Human Rights Watch has found evidence that security forces are responsible for using excessive force, mass arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings in a recent spate of election-related violence.
Following the October 28 violence, the BNP called for a general strike from October 31-November 2, during and after which clashes broke out between police, opposition members, and ruling party supporters. While there has been violence on all sides, in some instances police used excessive force in responding to protests.
Bangladesh authorities accused the opposition of “creating chaos,” and have sealed the BNP party offices describing it as a crime scene.
Senior government leaders, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, have fueled ongoing violence through public statements encouraging attacks on opposition protesters. On November 3, she told her Awami League party supporters that if they catch anyone committing arson to “throw [them] into the same fire. The hand that sets fire to anything will have to be burnt … tit for tat. If so, they would learn lessons.”
Videos and witness reports show disturbing evidence of coordination between the police and the Awami League supporters in threatening and targeting opposition party activists. “People are scared to come out of their homes because the police and Awami League activists are in the street,” said a BNP supporter.
A video recorded by a journalist on November 4 in Dhaka showed Awami League activists carrying wooden batons marching behind police in riot gear, chanting slogans including “capture the activists of BNP one by one and slaughter them,” and, “BNP thugs, don't even think about showing up in the streets; we will beat you black and blue.”
Similar scenes were captured in other parts of the country. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from around 11 p.m. on November 4 in Feni district shows Awami League supporters carrying wooden batons marching alongside police officers in riot gear.
On November 5, following an incident in which BNP activists threw bricks at vehicles in the Tejgaon neighborhood of Dhaka, police and Awami League activists arrived together to search for those responsible. At least one Awami League activist was armed with what appeared to be a metal rod, according to a witness and videos and photos of the incident. “People on the road are scared of being arrested by the police or beaten by the Awami League goons,” the witness said.
While the police should investigate incidents of violence by all sides, their impartiality and ability to uphold the rule of law is undermined when they carry out raids alongside Awami League activists, Human Rights Watch said. While Awami League activists enjoy impunity for their role in the ongoing violence, opposition members are facing widespread – and often arbitrary – arrest.
A spokesperson for another opposition group, Amar Bangladesh Party, told Human Rights Watch that many of its supporters are “in hiding due to nightly police raids,” and that prison conditions are “unbearable due to an unprecedented level of overcrowding.” Bangladesh prisons are currently at more than double their capacity. In response to concerns over the recent uptick in detentions, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan told the media, “We can keep 90,000 inmates although our prisons are retentive of 42,000 inmates. So we don’t need to increase the capacity of the prisons right now.”
Some of those arrested have been allegedly beaten and tortured in custody. One woman told Human Rights Watch that her brother was “tortured with electric shocks, and I noticed one of his fingers on his left hand was bandaged.” A BNP activist said that his brother, who has a heart condition, was picked up by police on October 30, held in incommunicado detention for 10 days, and beaten in custody despite his pleas about health concerns.
Foreign governments should insist that the authorities maintain their international obligations to uphold human rights. Bangladesh is the main beneficiary of the EU’s “Everything But Arms” trade program, and the Bangladesh government has expressed its intention to apply for the Generalised Scheme of Preferences+ arrangement, which would extend reduced trade tariffs on key exports including garments. The government's abuses put into question its eligibility for either program, both of which are conditioned on certain human and labor rights standards. The European Parliament has most recently raised concerns, as have EU officials in a recent visit to the country.
“A free election is impossible when the government stifles free expression and systematically incapacitates the opposition, critics, and activists through arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearance, harassment, and intimidation,” Bleckner said. “Instead of stoking violence and jailing her critics, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should call for an immediate end to arbitrary political arrests and make clear that enforced disappearances, torture, and killings by security forces will not be tolerated.”
