Staff Reporter :
The interim government in Bangladesh led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is facing serious allegations of political repression after a surge in arrests under recently amended counterterrorism laws, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday.
The organisation says the law is being used to target supporters of the ousted Awami League, raising fears that the new government is repeating the same authoritarian tactics it once condemned.
The interim administration came to power after Sheikh Hasina’s government was toppled in August 2024 following nationwide protests that left 1,400 people dead.
In May 2025, the government imposed a “temporary” ban on all activities of the Awami League under amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act, blocking political meetings, publications, and online speech linked to the party.
HRW observed that the Anti-Terrorism Act was enacted in 2009 under the Awami League government.
Officials said the 2025 amendments were needed to hold Awami League party members accountable for their abuses while in power, and that they were acting on demands from political parties and student organizations.
Suppressing the right to peaceful speech and association violates international standards.
The Bangladesh Editors’ Council warned that the amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act would “curtail people’s freedom of expression and limit the wide scope of freedom of the mass media, which is worrying and it would threaten freedom of the press.”
Yunus, however, has denied any restrictions on freedom of expression, HRW said.
The ban has triggered widespread arrests of Awami League members, journalists, academics, and activists.
“The interim government should not be engaging in the same partisan behaviour Bangladeshis had to endure under Sheikh Hasina,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“Stuffing prisons with political opponents and shutting down peaceful dissent is not the path to democracy.”
One of the most controversial incidents occurred on August 28, when police detained 16 people at a discussion event organized by Mancha 71 at the Dhaka Reporters Unity office.
The meeting focused on Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War, but a mob accused the participants of being pro-Awami League. Instead of arresting the attackers, police detained the attendees, many elderly, under anti-terror charges.
Among those arrested were Dhaka University professor Sheikh Hafizur Rahman and former Awami League minister Abdul Latif Siddique.
Families say police initially claimed they were holding the group for “safety,” before formally charging them.
During a bail hearing, journalist Monjurul Alam Panna was brought to court wearing a helmet, handcuffs, and a bulletproof vest, while prosecution lawyers physically attacked another journalist inside the court compound.
“It was a discussion, not even a political event. How can that be terrorism?” said a family member of one detainee. “Those who attacked them are free, while innocent people are in jail. This government looks no different from the last one.”
Human rights groups warn that the Anti-Terrorism Act is being used to justify mass arrests and silence dissent.
Meanwhile, rising mob violence has claimed at least 152 lives since January, according to Ain o Salish Kendra. Critics say the state is failing to protect citizens from extremist groups while focusing on crushing political opponents.
The United Nations recently signed a three-year agreement to open a human rights mission in Bangladesh, a move seen as a step toward greater accountability. But rights advocates say immediate action is needed.
“The government should stop abusing the anti-terrorism law, which has effectively turned into a tool of political repression,” Ganguly said. “Instead of arresting critics, it should focus on ensuring conditions for fair elections.”
The interim government has promised to hold national elections in February 2026, but growing repression raises questions about whether Bangladesh is truly moving toward democratic transition or sliding back into a cycle of fear and revenge politics.
