HRW calls for not keeping political opponents in detention without trial

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for not keeping politicians and others associated with the ousted Awami League government in Bangladesh in detention without trial. The organization made this call in a press release on Monday (August 24).

HRW said that after Sheikh Hasina was forced to step down from the post of prime minister following several weeks of protests in August 2024, police arrested thousands of leaders, activists and supporters of the Awami League, among whom hundreds are still in jail without being charged with any crime. According to the organization’s statement, some officials may be involved in the serious human rights violations of the Awami League government, but many have been arrested on charges of killing protesters without any visible evidence. Family members and lawyers of the detained have alleged that many of the detained persons are elderly and some have serious health problems, yet they have been deprived of even basic rights such as bail and treatment.

It has been said in the press release that since Prime Minister Tarique Rahman took office in February 2026, at least 10 office-bearers of the Awami League have died in jail, most of whom had not been charged with any crime. Elaine Pearson, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said, “Hundreds of members of the opposition party have been kept in detention without any evidence or due legal process during the tenure of one government after another. The government of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has promised reforms. As a first step he should stop the long arbitrary detention of political opponents.”

The organization said that instead of reforms if the government’s new National Human Rights Commission Bill is passed in its current form the commission will not be able to investigate allegations of arbitrary arrests. In their words, among those detained without charges are former Awami League parliament members, other former lawmakers who were supporters of the Sheikh Hasina government and workers, officials and journalists who were supporters of the Awami League government. They also mentioned that there are allegations of serious international crimes such as extrajudicial killings, torture and enforced disappearances against several others including members of the security forces, and there are also allegations of corruption against some. HRW claimed that even in those cases where no evidence has been presented the prosecution has repeatedly opposed bail and the lower courts and district courts have continuously rejected bail. In their words, even when the High Court granted bail the concerned authorities of the government prevented the bail order from being implemented by filing new cases.

Highlighting the case of former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque the report said that this 82-year-old former Chief Justice was arrested on July 24, 2025 on the charge of killing a protester and in the next three months he was shown arrested in four more cases including corruption; the lower court rejected his bail application in each case. His family informed Human Rights Watch that he was ill and suffered a heart attack while in jail. Although the High Court granted his bail, on March 10, 2026, one day before the court granted bail in the final case, police applied for his arrest in two more new cases, as a result of which he did not get release. The lower court also rejected his bail in the two new cases, later the High Court granted him bail on May 12. But before Khairul Haque got release police filed another murder case against him.

Citing the family HRW further informed that the police allegation was that Khairul Haque was present at the scene of that murder at exactly the same time when he was said to have been present at the scene of another earlier murder charge, yet the distance between the two scenes is more than 10 kilometres. After that the same incident happened again—after the High Court granted him bail police filed a new case again. This time the authorities tried to bypass such an order of the High Court where the police had been directed not to ‘arrest and harass’ Khairul Haque without any specific case. Finally after the intervention of the Appellate Division he was released on August 19; the organization informed that throughout the entire period no formal charge was framed against him on any criminal allegation.

Lawyers of other detained persons informed Human Rights Watch that they are now discouraging their clients from seeking bail because their experience is that if bail is obtained police file new cases against them and arrest them again.

Expressing concern over the International Crimes Tribunal as well Human Rights Watch said that Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal is a domestic court formed to try international crimes and according to its rules no person can be kept in detention for more than one year without framing of charges except in ‘exceptional circumstances’ mentioned in writing. But they claimed that the tribunal has not granted bail to any of the more than 160 persons detained so far and they also do not have the right to appeal against the rejection of their bail.

It has been said in the report that the tribunal first detained 81-year-old Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, adviser to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, in October 2024 and he has been in detention for 22 months so far without framing of charges, the organization informed. When he applied for bail in April 2026 the tribunal did not grant bail and did not mention any reason of ‘exceptional circumstances’, they alleged; rather the hearing has been adjourned twice and the latest hearing remains adjourned until the end of August.

The organization further informed that the tribunal has also kept 75-year-old former parliament member Kamal Ahmed Majumder in detention for 22 months. His family informed Human Rights Watch that gangrene appeared in his leg while in jail and three fingers had to be amputated, and his hip bone also broke after a fall. The tribunal rejected his bail application in July.

Expressing concern over the treatment of the detained the organization said that many families have alleged that their relatives in jail are not getting adequate treatment. According to the information given by them, 75-year-old Shahriar Kabir has been suffering from various long-term diseases and needs a wheelchair for movement, and various rights activists have called for his release. They further said that 71-year-old ARM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury has been in detention for 22 months without any charge and has serious heart disease. Citing them, 85-year-old former Awami League parliament member Ramesh Chandra Sen was arrested in August 2024 in three murder cases and one explosives case and remained in detention until his death on February 7, 2026; his family informed that he was not given proper medicine and was also not granted bail.

The organization informed that similar concern also exists around the death of 65-year-old SM Ziaul Haque Zia. The organization claimed that this member of Jamalpur district Awami League was already ill when he was detained on January 6, and he died on April 14 after not getting bail.

Highlighting international law on pre-trial detention HRW said that although according to international human rights law there is some scope to keep someone in detention before the start of trial or to release under specific conditions, pre-trial detention should be used as an exception, not as a rule, and the matter has to be determined separately in the case of each person. According to their statement, the legality and necessity of the detention order of each detained person should be reviewed by a judge or equivalent authority, and if someone is kept in pre-trial detention he must be tried quickly or released. Any restriction imposed before the start of trial must also be consistent with the right to personal liberty, the right to be presumed innocent and the right to equality before the law, the organization also mentioned.

Elaine Pearson said, “A justice system that allows a person to die in jail even before charges are framed is not treating pre-trial detention as the exceptional measure it should be considered. The government of Bangladesh should order independent investigation into all the deaths that have occurred in jail during their tenure and stop keeping people in arbitrary detention for long periods without any charge.”