Mass arrests of opposition activists undermine conditions for free, fair election in Bangladesh: HRW

The Human Rights Watch has said the recent mass arrests of opposition activists undermine conditions for free, fair election in Bangladesh.

"Bangladesh police indiscriminately fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons, and beat opposition party supporters with batons during protests in late July 2023," HRW said in a statement on Wednesday.

"In the days leading up to a major demonstration on 29 July, the authorities arrested over 800 leaders and activists of the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), in what appears to be a systematic effort to target and detain political opponents," it said.

The election-related "abuses" took place during a visit by the European Union's special representative for human rights, Eamon Gilmore, and at the end of the EU's exploratory mission to assess the conditions for full monitoring during the January 2024 national elections. The United States government has warned that it will restrict visas for any Bangladeshi who undermines "the democratic election process in Bangladesh."

"International observers should view the brutal crackdown on the political opposition as an alarm that elections in Bangladesh will not be democratic," said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. 

"The Bangladesh government is making international pledges on holding free and fair elections even as it unleashes autocratic and abusive attacks that clearly contradict those claims."

BNP leaders claimed that at least 100 of their supporters were injured during the protests. Videos of clashes between the police and opposition supporters show security forces using excessive force by kicking and hitting people who appear to be unarmed. 

According to the police, at least 32 officers were also injured after opposition protesters threw stones and attacked police vehicles.

"The police said that they had not granted BNP permission for the rally on 29 July. However, law enforcement officers are required to respect the right of freedom of assembly and human rights standards on the use of force when dispersing demonstrations, regardless of whether the demonstrations were legally sanctioned," the statement said.

"The authorities had also filed cases against over 1,500 named opposition leaders and activists and over 15,000 unnamed people in the weeks leading up to the BNP rally on 29 July. The use of criminal complaints against large numbers of 'unknown' people is a common abusive practice in Bangladesh, allowing the police to intimidate and threaten virtually anyone with arrest, to repeatedly re-arrest detainees even though they are not the named accused in the cases, and to thwart bail requests," it added.