Dhaka, Aug 27 (IANS) A leading international human rights organisation highlighted a deeply troubling pattern of extrajudicial killings, custodial deaths, and other widespread rights violations across Bangladesh under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.
Justice Makers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), in its report titled ‘State of Extrajudicial Killings & Custodial Deaths Under Interim Government in Bangladesh,’ mentioned that between August 2024 and July 2025, the South Asian nation witnessed a surge in extrajudicial killings and custodial deaths under the Yunus administration.
It added that these incidents have drawn widespread criticism, exposing systemic failures in law enforcement, prison management, and judicial accountability.
The rights body documented a total of 60 incidents resulting in 70 extrajudicial killings and custodial deaths across Bangladesh during this period, carried out by the country’s law and security personnel, as well as prison management.
“Among these cases, custodial deaths caused by law enforcement and security personnel accounted for 33 incidents (55 per cent of all incidents) and 43 victims (61 per cent of all victims). Custodial deaths in prisons comprised 27 incidents (45 per cent of incidents) and 27 victims (39 per cent of victims). These figures indicate that a substantial portion of extrajudicial killings and custodial deaths occurred within state custody, reflecting deep institutional weaknesses,” read the report.
Between August 2024 and July 2025, as per the JMBF report, 12 incidents were reported in which 21 people died due to gunshot injuries inflicted by Bangladesh’s law enforcement and security personnel, including police, Rapid Action Battalion, army, joint forces, Coast Guard, and Air Force.
The victims were reportedly shot during operations against protests, often in circumstances indicating “excessive or disproportionate” use of force against civilian-led democratic demonstrations.
The rights body accused the interim government of systematically weaponising institutions meant to protect citizens.
“Law enforcement agencies, prison authorities, and even segments of the judiciary have been politicised to silence dissent. Instead of serving justice, these institutions have become tools of persecution, particularly targeting opposition members, Awami League activists, workers, and marginalised groups. This deliberate politicisation has eroded public confidence in the rule of law and widened political divisions,” the report detailed.
According to the human rights body, the judiciary in Bangladesh has “largely failed to act as a safeguard against executive abuse.”
“Families of victims face intimidation when filing complaints, police refuse to register cases, and courts delay or dismiss petitions. Out of 70 documented victims, only a handful of cases saw any legal proceedings, and none resulted in accountability. This denial of remedies has normalised state violence and fueled hopelessness,” it added.
The JMBF urged the Yunus-led interim government to immediately halt gross violations by ending all extrajudicial killings, custodial torture, and medical neglect in prisons and establishing an international and independent commission of inquiry, with full access to victims, families, and documentation.
It further called for an end to political cleansing and the targeting of political opponents and marginalised groups through arbitrary arrests, torture, and imprisonment.
–IANS
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