Hasina directly ordered disappearances, killings
Diplomatic Correspondent :
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that the interim government’s hard-won progress could be at risk if swift and structural reforms are not implemented to withstand future government repression.
The report recommends ending arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, fake crossfire’s, and enforced disappearances.
It also calls for the disbandment of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the establishment of a rights-based justice system, the promotion of an active civil society, and ensuring civilian oversight and accountability.
The report, titled “After the Monsoon Revolution: A Roadmap to Lasting Security Sector Reform in Bangladesh,” was published on HRW’s website on Monday.
It highlights the need for the interim government to bring a consensus resolution at the Human Rights Council session in March to ensure continued UN monitoring and support for the reform process. HRW also urged donor governments to emphasize core structural reforms.
Over the last 15 years, the report finds, Bangladesh’s security forces served as a core component of Sheikh Hasina’s repressive apparatus.
These forces systematically targeted members of the opposition, critics, journalists, and human rights activists through trumped-up cases, torture, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and enforced disappearances.
“Enforced disappearances were a hallmark of Sheikh Hasina’s rule. Yet her government repeatedly denied the allegations,” the report states.
The report also points out how Sheikh Hasina’s government weakened oversight institutions such as the judiciary and the national human rights commission, further consolidating her power.
HRW quoted a police officer who noted that loyalty to the Awami League was often prioritized over merit for lucrative postings, causing the police to act more like party cadres.
The report also underscores the need for reforms following mass protests in August 2024, which led to the ousting of Sheikh Hasina’s government.
HRW urged the interim government to establish lawful detention practices and repeal laws used to target critics. Reforms should focus on maintaining the separation of powers and ensuring political neutrality in institutions such as the civil service, police, military, and judiciary.
Elaine Pearson, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, stated, “Nearly 1,000 Bangladeshis lost their lives fighting for democracy, ushering in a landmark opportunity to build a rights-respecting future in Bangladesh.
This hard-won progress could all be lost if the interim government does not create swift and structural reforms that can withstand any repression by future governments.”
The report highlighted the need to disband the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a counterterrorism unit comprising seconded police and military personnel responsible for numerous human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances.
HRW quoted an RAB official: “I was shocked when I joined RAB in 2016. During our training, an officer openly admitted to having conducted 169 crossfire’s. I remember telling one of my batch mates that the officer must be crazy to admit such a thing in front of everyone.”
In response to the findings, RAB chief AKM Shahidur Rahman acknowledged the existence of secret detention centers and stated that RAB would accept the interim government’s decision if it chose to disband the unit.
HRW emphasised the need for independent civilian oversight of law enforcement, including unannounced inspections of detention centers by the national human rights commission.
Courts should ensure that anyone detained is promptly produced before a judge, and all detention centers should be made public and subject to independent inspection.
The report also touched on the interim government’s decision to use the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), a domestic special court previously used to prosecute crimes against humanity during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence, to address human rights abuses during the Monsoon Revolution.
However, HRW noted that the ICT has faced criticism for fair trial violations and the inclusion of the death penalty, which contradicts international human rights standards.
As of November, prosecutors had filed 80 complaints of crimes against humanity and genocide at the Tribunal, including against Sheikh Hasina and senior cabinet members, many of whom have fled the country and will likely be prosecuted in absentia.
Pearson concluded, “Bangladesh’s interim government has the monumental task of undoing 15 years of increasingly entrenched autocracy. The interim government should enlist UN support to cement structural reforms so that the abuses of the past do not become a blueprint for Bangladesh’s future.”
The report’s recommendations are based on over 20 years of HRW research and recent interviews with human rights activists, members of the interim government, and current and former law enforcement and military officials.