Bangladesh

 

  • Time to Sign: Stand with students & activists in Bangladesh

    Bangladesh: Release and drop all charges against all those arbitrarily arrested and investigate police abuse

    Global civil society alliance CIVICUS is calling for your support and solidarity to demand the release of students and protesters who were arrested and charged over the last month in Bangladesh. On 15th August, Bangladesh was added to the CIVICUS Monitor’sWatch List, which means that there has been an escalation in serious threats to fundamental freedoms in recent weeks and months.

    Add your voice to the campaign to demand that the government reverse this trend, release all those arbitrarily arrested and investigate police abuses by sending the letter below to government authorities, and adding your voice on social media using #BangladeshProtests.

     

  • Time to Sign: Stand with students and activists in Bangladesh

    Bangladesh: Release and drop all charges against all those arbitrarily arrested and investigate police abuse

    Global civil society alliance CIVICUS is calling for your support and solidarity to demand the release of students and protesters who were arrested and charged over the last month in Bangladesh. On 15th August, Bangladesh was added to the CIVICUS Monitor’sWatch List, which means that there has been an escalation in serious threats to fundamental freedoms in recent weeks and months.

    Add your voice to the campaign to demand that the government reverse this trend, release all those arbitrarily arrested and investigate police abuses by sending the letter below to government authorities, and adding your voice on social media using #BangladeshProtests.

    3 actions you can take to stand with students and other activists:

    1. Sign and send letter to Prime Minister of Bangladesh

    To the Prime Minister of Bangladesh,
    H.E. Sheikh Hasina Wazed

    Bangladesh: Release and drop all charges against all those arbitrarily arrested and investigate police abuse

    Dear Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,

    I am writing to express my concerns about serious violations of civic freedoms perpetrated during recent protests in Bangladesh. I urge your government to take immediate steps to address these issues in accordance with your international human rights obligations.

    Between 29 July to 15 August 2018 around a hundred individuals, mainly students were charged for unlawful assembly, rioting and other crimes under the Penal Code, Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act and the Special Powers Act. Those arrested were students from private universities or colleges who were involved in either the protests on road safety triggered by the killing of two teenagers by a speeding bus on 29 July 2018 or protests calling for reforms to the civil service quota system. Some were allegedly tortured or ill-treated in custody. Some students have been granted bail on 19 and 20 August. Many students are still in hiding and have not been able to attend classes. I am concerned by reports that they are being deprived from medical care following injuries they sustained while in detention.

    I am also concerned about reports that police used excessive force, including firing rubber bullets and tear gas on 4th August 2018 to disperse demonstrations in Dhaka which were triggered by the killing of two teenagers by a speeding bus on 29th July 2018. Some of the student protesters were also allegedly attacked by members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Jubo League, the student and youth wing of the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) party.

    Scores of journalists were attacked while covering the protests, some of whom were later detained briefly by the police. At least four journalists from The Daily Star newspaper were reportedly beaten while at least seven photojournalists were injured in attacks in Jhigatala and Science Lab areas of the city on 5 August 2018. While some attackers wore helmets, the journalists identified some of their attackers as BCL members.

    I am also concerned about the arbitrary arrest of Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam who was taken from his home, just hours after he made comments on Al-Jazeera about protests in the city. He was subsequently charged under section 57 of Bangladesh’s Information Communications Technology Act a provision that has been frequently used to bring charges against critics, activists and other dissenting voices in Bangladesh. He has also alleged that he was tortured while in custody. He was denied bail three times in the lower court.

    In the last few months, human rights organisations have also documented attacks by the BCL against students protesting the civil service quota system, which reserves 30 percent of government jobs for children of freedom fighters from Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971. Academics and journalists supporting them have also been targeted.

    Therefore, I urge your government to take the following steps as a matter of priority:

    • Immediately and unconditionally release all protesters and activists who have been arbitrarily detained for exercising their human rights, in particular photographer Shahidul Alam, and drop all charges against them;
    • Carry out prompt, impartial, independent and efficient investigations into all complaints and reports of excessive use of force by the police, as well as attacks by non-state actors, against protesters and journalists, bring those responsible to justice and provide reparations to the victims;
    • Review and amend all laws that restrict freedom of expression, such as section 57 of the 2006 Information and Communication Technology Act;
    • Send a clear message to members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and other non-state actors that violence by them will not be tolerated;
    • Create a safe and enabling environment for activists, civil society and citizens to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly without intimidation, harassment, arrest or prosecution.

    I express my sincere hope that you will consider and implement these recommendations. 

    Sincerely, 

    Sign your name:

     

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    You can also copy and paste the above letter and send directly to the below government officials, or write your own letter with demands and recommendations to: 

    Prime Minister's Office
    Email: 
    Salutation: Honourable Prime Minister

    Minister of Home Affairs 
    Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal 
    Email: 
    Salutation: Honourable Home Minister

    Inspector General of Police
    Mohammad Javed Patwary
    Email: 
    Salutation: Dear Inspector General

    And copies to: Political Affairs Advisor to Bangladesh
    Prime Minister H.T. Imam
    E-mail: ; 

    2. Share and show solidarity on social media

     

    Stand in solidarity with Bangladeshi protesters and journalists by sharing this infographic on social media using #BangladeshProtests and tagging the following diplomatic and government representatives. 

    3. Share campaign with your network

    Updates:

    Updates about the campaign to be made available here

    For more information, contact:

    Clementine de Montjoye – clementine.demontjoye[at]civicus.org 
    Josef Benedict – josef.benedict[at]civicus.org

     

  • UN Universal Periodic Review submissions on civil society space in Bangladesh, Colombia, Cuba and Djibouti

    The United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States once every 4.5 years.

    CIVICUS and its partners have submitted UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submissions on four countries in advance of the 44th UPR session in October-November 2023. The submissions examine the state of civil society in each country, including the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression and the environment for human rights defenders. We further provide an assessment of the States’ domestic implementation of civic space recommendations received during the 3rd UPR cycle over 4 years ago and provide a number of targeted follow-up recommendations.

    Bangladesh– The submission by CIVICUS and the Asia Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) highlights concerns over the increasing harassment of critical human rights groups as well as the criminalisation and harassment of and threats and attacks on HRDs, journalists and critics, with impunity. The report also documents alarming restrictions on press freedom, the systematic use of the Digital Security Act to silence dissent and unwarranted restrictions and use of excessive force to crush protests.

    Colombia ­– In this submission, CIVICUS and Temblores ONG examine the situation of civic space in Colombia, underscoring the extreme violence that the country’s HRDs, social leaders and journalists face. The research shows that the implementation of various protection mechanisms has been ineffective and uncoordinated. In the submission, the organisations also highlight the repeated use of disproportionate force against protesters, showing a pattern of violations affecting the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.

    Cuba –CIVICUS, the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy (REDLAD) and Gobierno y Análisis Político AC (GAPAC) detail the government persistent failure to address unwarranted restrictions on civic space, both in law and in practice. The report highlights constitutional and legal obstacles to the exercise of the basic freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression in Cuba. It further reports cases of harassment and persecution faced by CSOs and activists, including arbitrary arrests and searches of their homes and offices, and of persistent censorship.

    Djibouti– This submission by CIVICUS and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (DefendDefenders) highlights concerns about Djibouti’s onslaught on freedom of expression and media freedom through its enactment of stifling laws that silence critical opinions. It further sheds a light on the targeting of HRDs and political opposition through intimidation, stifling laws and judicial harassment.

     

    Civic space in Bangladesh and Colombia is rated as Repressed, whereas Cuba and Djibouti’s is rated as Closed by the CIVICUS Monitor.

     

  • United Nations adopts resolution on human rights on the internet

    CIVCUS welcomes the adoption by the Human Rights Council of a new resolution on human rights on the internet, particularly the resolution’s focus on internet shutdowns.

    The shutdown of internet access or access to social media has become a widespread tactic used by the authorities to quell protests or forms of online dissent. In the last year, the CIVICUS Monitor documented such tactics used in Bangladesh, Chad, Ethiopia, India, Myanmar and Palestine, among other countries. The shutdowns significantly disrupt people’s ability to seek, receive or impart information online; in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this has prevented people from obtaining essential information and services during the crisis. Such restrictions on access to the internet cannot be justified on public order or national security grounds.

    The adopted resolution strongly condemns the use of internet shutdowns to intentionally and arbitrarily prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online. It further mandates the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to study the trend in internet shutdowns and present findings to the Council next year.

    Over the last year, as participation has moved online, new tactics of online restriction have subsequently developed. We welcome that the resolution calls upon all States to refrain from and to cease online censorship. Given the increasing use by repressive governments of online attacks against human rights defenders and activists, and online surveillance, we call on States to ensure that measures offline or online for the protection of national security, public order and public health are in full compliance with international law obligations and respect the principles of lawfulness, legitimacy, necessity and proportionality.

    Given that the digital divide has proven one of the biggest challenges facing civil society participation over the past year, it is particularly relevant that the resolution calls upon all States to accelerate efforts to bridge digital divides while applying a human rights-based approach.

     

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