Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on Tuesday that reprisals and arbitrary arrests against journalists risk undermining Bangladesh’s once-in-a-generation opportunity to end legal abuses seen during the rule of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina fled into exile last August after a student-led revolution ended her 15-year autocratic rule. An interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus took office a few days later, promising to institute far-reaching democratic reforms and hold new elections.
In a report released on Tuesday, HRW said Yunus’ administration had begun a process of reforming weak institutions that had been used as tools to torture opponents of Hasina’s Awami League party. But Elaine Pearson, Asia director at HRW, warned, “If the interim government does not implement rapid and structural reforms, all this hard-earned progress could be lost.”
The report said that police had “returned to abusive practices that were characteristic of the previous government” to target Hasina’s supporters, filing charges against tens of thousands of people in the two months following Hasina’s ouster. The report states that family members of those killed by security forces during protests to topple Hasina’s government were pressured to sign case documents without knowing who was being accused of the killings.
The report also states that the interim government has taken strict action against journalists who support Hasina’s government. According to the report, at least 140 journalists had been charged with murder as of November for allegedly supporting the Hasina government’s crackdown on protesters last summer.
Yunus’ government has not yet commented on the report. Yunus, 84, said he inherited a “completely broken” system of public administration and justice, and said it needed comprehensive reforms to prevent it from reverting to authoritarianism in the future.
Why Sheikh Hasina fled to India
In August 2024, Sheikh Hasina, then former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, fled to India amid massive student-led protests against her government. The demonstrations, primarily driven by discontent over a controversial quota system in government jobs, escalated to the point where protesters stormed her official residence. Facing mounting pressure and unrest, Hasina resigned and sought refuge in India.
Following her departure, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was established in Bangladesh. The new administration has accused Hasina of corruption and human rights abuses, alleging that the economic growth during her tenure was “fake” and that the world overlooked her alleged misconduct.
In December 2024, Bangladesh formally requested India’s assistance in extraditing Hasina to face trial for these allegations. However, as of January 2025, India has not shown willingness to comply with this request.
Concurrently, Bangladesh’s central bank has enlisted major audit firms to investigate banks that reportedly lost $17 billion to individuals linked to Hasina. These efforts are part of a broader initiative to recover funds allegedly misappropriated during her 15-year tenure.
