Dhaka, December 21, 2025 — The Bangladesh Awami League has strongly condemned “the killing” of Wasikur Rahman Babu, a former president of Badda Thana Chhatra League and a Ward No. 38 Awami League leader under Dhaka North City Corporation, who died while in custody at Kashimpur Central Jail.
In a press statement issued on Saturday, the party alleged that Babu was killed as part of what it described as a continuing campaign of political repression under the Yunus-led interim government. The Awami League accused the authorities of using arrests, detention, and custodial violence to target its leaders and activists nationwide.
According to the party, Babu’s death is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of custodial deaths involving Awami League leaders and grassroots activists since the change of government. The party claimed that several detainees have died under suspicious circumstances while in prison or law enforcement custody, raising serious concerns over torture, medical neglect, and deliberate denial of treatment.
The Awami League alleged that during the current interim administration, reports have emerged of detainees becoming critically ill in custody without timely access to medical care. In some cases, families were allegedly informed only after death had occurred, while post-mortem reports were either delayed or questioned by relatives. The party further claimed that no independent or transparent investigations have been carried out into these deaths.
“The prison and detention system, which is meant to ensure the safety and legal rights of detainees, has effectively been transformed into a tool of political persecution,” the statement said. The party alleged that law enforcement agencies and prison authorities are operating with impunity, shielded by the interim government from accountability.
The Awami League also warned that custodial deaths and alleged extrajudicial practices represent a serious erosion of the rule of law and human rights in Bangladesh. It said such actions not only violate constitutional protections but also undermine the country’s international human rights commitments.
Condemning Wasikur Rahman Babu’s death, the party demanded an impartial investigation and accountability for those responsible. It asserted that those involved in custodial killings would ultimately be brought to justice and said it remained committed to restoring a “humane, democratic, and rights-based Bangladesh” through legal and institutional reforms.
The authorities have not yet issued an official response to the allegations.
