When Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed power on August 8, 2024, backed by the military and Islamist factions, he promised renewal.
Instead, Bangladesh has been dragged into a spiral of repression that rights defenders and the Awami League call a state-sponsored campaign of persecution. At the heart of this crisis lies a chilling pattern: torture, abuse, and death in custody.
The courts and prisons, once people’s place of trust, have now become symbols of fear. Allegations of custodial torture, a procession of deaths, and repressive policies are shaking Bangladesh today.
Despite one clear incident after another of people being arrested, tortured, and killed, the authorities of the Yunus government are brazenly denying the truth.
On September 8, Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman said: “In the one year since August 5, there has not been a single case of enforced disappearance in the country, and not even the police have filed a false case.”
“Hellish Suffering”: Testimony from Behind Bars
For Awami League Joint Secretary Bahauddin Nasim, the condition of detainees is almost unspeakable.
“What awaits our people in jail is nothing short of hellish suffering,” Nasim told The Voice. “It is indescribable physical and mental torture meant to break their bodies and spirit.”
The case of Touhidul Islam, a youth activist from Cumilla, illustrates this torment. Arrested one evening, he was returned the next day as a corpse, his body bearing bruises across chest, back, and throat.
“He was beaten throughout the night,” his brother Abul Kalam said. Despite a public outcry, the investigation was handed to the very security forces accused of abuse, leaving the family with no faith in justice.
Abu Bakkar Siddique Munna, a 68-year-old Awami League leader from Gaibandha, suffered a similar fate. After months in detention, he secured bail in one case, only to be immediately re-arrested at the jail gate under a new charge.
His son Md. Soumik told The Voice: “He was not sick. He was tortured and killed, denied even basic care.” Party leaders describe this practice of “shown arrest” as a cynical tactic to keep opponents locked up indefinitely.
In Nilphamari, relatives of Jubo League leader Mominur Islam dismissed claims that asthma killed him in prison. They say he was deliberately forced to sleep on bare concrete floors in freezing winter, leading to his death. “He was subjected to inhumane conditions and effectively tortured,” a family member said.
These testimonies expose what rights groups describe as “slow killings” — a combination of physical abuse, denial of medical treatment, and degrading conditions used to break detainees.
The Toll: Numbers That Cannot Be Ignored
What began as isolated reports soon revealed a nationwide pattern.
- 12 deaths in custody were recorded between August and December 2024, according to Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).
- By July 2025, independent monitors had counted over 50 Awami League leaders and activists dead in custody.
- JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) tracked 70 deaths between August 2024 and July 2025, with nearly half caused by torture.
Freedom fighter and rights activist Tajul Imam describes these figures as a warning to the nation: “Since August 5, 2024, dozens of Awami League grassroots leaders and activists have died in custody. This is not incidental — it is part of a concerning trend of state-sanctioned violence.”
The names in this grim ledger — from Elahi Sikder of Gopalganj to Sarwar Hossain Nannu of Munshiganj — represent families left shattered and a justice system that looks the other way.
Family Grief, Public Rage
For families, grief quickly turns into disbelief at official narratives of “heart attacks” or “illness.”
- Nannu’s family insists he bore scars of torture when he died in July 2025, despite authorities citing cardiac failure.
- Mominur Islam’s relatives say his death was “premeditated,” not asthma-related.
- Touhidul’s brother repeats the chilling detail that his sibling was healthy the night before his arrest.
Each story erodes public faith in institutions and fuels anger against the regime.
Rights Groups Demand Accountability
ASK, in a September 2025 statement, condemned fresh custodial deaths in Sylhet and Moulvibazar:
“Deaths in police custody have become increasingly frequent. Each one is a violation of human rights and constitutional guarantees. The absence of independent investigations perpetuates a culture of impunity.”
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have echoed these warnings, pointing to Bangladesh’s Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act of 2013, which has produced only one conviction in more than a decade. Critics argue the law excludes deaths from neglect or poor conditions, leaving families without recourse.
Political Reversal: Awami League as Target
Once accused of heavy-handedness itself, the Awami League now finds its members systematically targeted. Courtroom attacks, endless “shown arrests,” and denial of bail have transformed detention into a death sentence.
The party denounces this as a pogrom. “Hundreds of citizens affiliated with the Awami League were murdered using mob terror, and scores of activists were subjected to custodial death,” it declared in July. Leaders insist these crimes will not be forgotten: “Justice will one day be served for the victims.”
Breaking the Silence of Torture Chambers
The Yunus government promised reform but delivered repression. The bodies piling up in custody, the families grieving without recourse, and the rights groups demanding accountability all point to one truth: Bangladesh’s justice system has been hijacked by impunity.
As the Awami League fights for survival and dignity, the question now is whether the world will look away — or stand with the victims to halt this descent into lawlessness.
