Amnesty International has alleged that Bangladesh’s interim government imposed unnecessary restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and assembly throughout 2025, according to its annual human rights report.
In its report titled The State of the World’s Human Rights 2025, published on April 21, the London-based rights organisation said individuals — including journalists, authors, bloggers, poets, and human rights defenders — faced arbitrary arrests, harassment, and intimidation for exercising freedom of expression.
The report questioned the interim government’s commitment to democratic freedoms, particularly after the ban imposed on the Awami League.
The interim administration assumed office in August 2024 following the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. A BNP-led administration later took power after the February 12 national polls.
According to Amnesty, the Cyber Security Act of 2023 — previously criticised for suppressing dissent under the former government — continued to be used by the interim authorities to discourage activism. The law was later replaced by the Cyber Security Ordinance in May 2025, pending approval by a future parliament.
The report highlighted several incidents targeting media and civil society figures. Following the killing of July uprising leader Sharif Osman Hadi on December 18, violent protests reportedly led to attacks on the offices of newspapers The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, harassment of the editor of New Age, and an assault on cultural organisation Chhayanaut.
Amnesty also criticised restrictions on labour rights, alleging excessive requirements and state interference in trade union registration and activities.
On enforced disappearances, the report noted that the interim government moved to implement the International Convention Against Enforced Disappearance through a new ordinance after signing the treaty in 2024. Although initial drafts faced criticism for not fully aligning with international human rights standards, revised versions addressed some concerns before approval in December.
The report referenced a June 2025 visit by the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which urged Bangladesh to strengthen protections for victims and witnesses and address ongoing impunity.
According to the national Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, 1,837 complaints were received, with 1,772 cases formally entered into its database. Among the victims, 1,427 were reportedly found alive while 345 remained missing.
The commission stated that 67 percent of enforced disappearance cases were linked to state agencies, including the Rapid Action Battalion, and described a “widespread and systematic culture of torture”.
The report also referenced findings released by the United Nations in February, which concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe that the former government and affiliated security forces committed serious human rights violations.
Amnesty further noted that thousands of Islamist protesters gathered in Dhaka in May to oppose reforms proposed by the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission, calling the proposals “anti-Islamic”.
The organisation added that cuts in USAID funding had severely impacted Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh.
