The interim government led by Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus is increasingly using the recently amended counterterrorism law to arrest alleged supporters of the deposed Awami League-led government, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.
In a press release issued on the day, the rights watchdog also said that thousands had been arrested under the rule of interim government, many on 鈥榙ubious鈥� murder allegations, while scores were being held under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
鈥楽everal have alleged mistreatment in custody, including lack of access to medical care, a chilling reminder of similar allegations under the Sheikh Hasina government,鈥� the HRW said.
The Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime was ousted on August 5, 2024, amid a mass uprising.
鈥楾he interim government should not be engaging in the same partisan behaviour that Bangladeshis had to endure under Sheikh Hasina, whether it is stuffing the prisons with political opponents or shutting down peaceful dissent,鈥� said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Ganguly said, 鈥楾he interim government should instead focus on creating conditions for safe and participatory elections.鈥�
The rights watchdog also urged the United Nations human rights team in Bangladesh to immediately seek the release of those 鈥榓rbitrarily鈥� detained and encourage the authorities to uphold rights and prosecute all those who use unlawful political violence.
The HRW press release said that the interim government took office in August 2024 following the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 government following three weeks of protests in which 1,400 people were killed.
Later, on May 12, 2025, the interim government ordered a 鈥榯emporary鈥� ban on the Awami League, using new authority under 鈥榙raconian鈥� amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act which was enacted in 2009, it said.
鈥楾he ban includes prohibitions on meetings, publications, and online speech supporting the party and is being used to arrest Awami League members and peaceful activists,鈥� it said.
Officials said that the 2025 amendments were needed to hold the AL members accountable for their abuses while in power.
The interim government has pledged to hold the general elections in February 2026.
According to the rights watchdog, police detained 16 people, including journalists and academics, on August 28 at a discussion held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital Dhaka by Mancha 71, a platform that celebrates Bangladesh鈥檚 independence from Pakistan in 1971.
The release read that a mob surrounded and heckled the participants of the meeting, accusing them of being loyal to the Awami League.
Instead of arresting the disrupters, the police detained 16 participants in the event, some of them in their 70s and 80s, it said.
Police later arrested them under the anti-terrorism law with the claims that those arrested had incited violence against the interim government, which was denied by witnesses. Two more people were later arrested in the same case.
Among those arrested are a Dhaka University professor, Sheikh Hafizur Rahman, and Abdul Latif Siddique, a former minister who was later expelled by the Awami League.
Ain o Salish Kendra, a Bangladeshi legal aid and human rights organisation, said that at least 152 people have been killed in mob attacks since January.
Editors鈥� Council in Bangladesh warned that the amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act would 鈥榗urtail people鈥檚 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.鈥�
Yunus, however, has denied any restrictions on freedom of expression, the release said.
The release mentioned that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Bangladeshi government signed a three-year memorandum of understanding in July to open a mission in the country 鈥榯o support the promotion and protection of human rights.鈥�
鈥楾he UN鈥檚 human rights office has been invited by the government to support the protection of human rights in Bangladesh, and it should monitor developments and urgently intervene to discourage politically motivated arrests,鈥� Meenakshi Ganguly added.
