Awami League warns of escalating human rights violations in Bangladesh under Yunus regime

Dhaka, Aug 25 (IANS) Bangladesh’s Awami League party has expressed grave concern over worsening human rights violations under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, stating that ‘journalists are being hunted like criminals, activists are branded enemies of the state, and ordinary citizens live in fear of mobs that now dictate justice.

In a report titled “Bangladesh’s Human Rights Crisis: Voices Silenced, Freedoms Crushed, Fear Everywhere”, the party asserted that harassment, arbitrary arrests, and enforced disappearances of journalists, writers, and human rights activists have reached unprecedented levels across Bangladesh.

“Between August 2024 and July 2025, 496 journalists were subjected to harassment, while three lost their lives in the line of duty. Scores of media workers face constant threats, court summons, and intimidation, creating a climate where speaking out is a perilous choice,” the report detailed.

Highlighting the atrocities on journalists across the country following the ouster of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the party stated that the repression took a darker turn with journalists and writers dragged into courts on “trumped-up murder and assault charges”, linked to incidents in which they had no involvement.

According to the report, across Dhaka, Sylhet, Chattogram, and dozens of other districts, journalists, both seasoned and local correspondents, were implicated in “fabricated cases, many tied to past political unrest”. It added that the sheer scale of these prosecutions, often citing flimsy or contradictory “witness testimonies,” underscored an organised effort to “criminalize free thought and intimidate the press”.

The party further noted that the report documented 258 communal attacks against minorities in Bangladesh in the first half of 2025.

“In Rangpur district, Hindu families watched helplessly as their homes were set ablaze, looted, and demolished by frenzied attackers. The assaults were not isolated incidents but part of a pattern of targeted intimidation, a clear message that minorities have no guaranteed place of safety in the country. Victims who dared to resist were beaten, while others fled, forced into displacement within their own homeland,” the report stated.

Citing reports from across the country that reveal a disturbing pattern of violence against women in Bangladesh, the party stressed that women are targeted not only for their political affiliations or professions, but simply for existing outside the “narrow, suffocating standards dictated by extremist ideology”.

“Female students and professionals have been attacked for their clothing choices, harassed for speaking their minds, and beaten for challenging radical narratives. Even ordinary women on the streets are not spared; harassment, assault, and threats have become routine, creating an atmosphere where survival means silence,” the report added.

Asserting that Bangladeshis cannot fight this alone, the parties urged the global community, including the UN, human rights bodies, and international media, to act before an entire nation drowns in repression.

–IANS

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