Bangladesh: Worrying cybersecurity law amendments, journalists and critics targeted as weak human rights body established

Bangladesh’s civic space is rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are ongoing concerns on the targeting of journalists, the use of restrictive laws, continued police impunity, restrictions against the opposition, the need to ensure an enabling environment for civil society and accountability for past crimes.

In July 2026, Human Rights Watch said that the authorities were failing to uphold international legal standards at the country’s International Crimes Tribunal. The failures risk denying justice to victims, undermining the rule of law, falsely imprisoning political opponents, and repeating the rights violations of the past.

More than two years after the August 2024 mass protests that brought down Sheikh Hasina’s regime, civic space is faltering. The new Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government has yet to effectively enact reforms proposed by the interim government. Human rights defenders are extremely concerned about the decreasing space to speak up or undertake activism. Further, there has been no reform of the NGO Affairs Bureau which was used to target critical civil society groups.

On 15th September 2026, seven aides of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina were sentenced to death in absentia on charges relating to their roles in trying to crush the country’s 2024 uprising. The seven men were convicted of crimes against humanity, including murder, as well as instigating and provoking killings.

In recent months, the government has proposed restrictive amendments to the cyber security law as journalists continue to be criminalised, harassed, threatened and attacked. Individuals were detained for their online expression, and cultural events were shut down. A woman human rights defender was arrested in Moulvibazar. The government passed laws to establish a National Human Rights Commission and an Enforced Disappearance law despite civil society concerns on certain provisions that were inconsistent with international standards. A notorious police unit was given a rebrand without independent oversight, while activists slam increased militarisation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. There have been arrests and prolonged detention of the banned opposition as protests were restricted or disrupted.

Expression

Proposed cyber security law amendments could be used to criminalise dissent or reporting

Human rights groups have raised concerns about amendments to the Cyber Security Act 2026 that could be used to criminalise online dissent and reporting.

According to Transparency International Bangladesh the draft law defines a number of concepts, including ‘rumour’, ‘misinformation’, ‘demeaning’, ‘defamatory’ and ‘insulting to the state’, in ways that create scope for deliberate misinterpretation, targeted misuse and, in particular, the violation of freedom of speech and fundamental human rights.

The law carries a punishment of up to five years in jail for defamation or a heavy fine, and ten years in jail or a heavy fine for spreading rumours or fake news.

Furthermore, the amendments make vague crimes such as ‘friendly relations with a foreign state’ and acting ‘for the benefit of a foreign state or any person or group’ as a non-bailable offence.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said the amendments could also grant authorities the power to block journalists’ work and deregister news outlets. In the bill’s current form, online material could be in violation of the law if authorities decide it is ‘unsubstantiated or unverified’ and it creates public confusion, panic, or unrest. Cases would be tried before a specialised court, the Cyber Tribunal, that hears cases under Bangladesh’s digital and cyber laws.

Another proposed amendment would expand the authorities empowered to seek the blocking of digital content. Under the current act, only law enforcement agencies can request, through the director-general, that the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission block content. The proposed amendment would extend this power beyond law enforcement agencies to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and any other agency or force empowered by the government.

Bangladesh has a track record of using cyber crime legislation against activists, journalists and critics in politically motivated cases.

Press freedom group calls for ICT case against journalists to be dropped

In August 2026, a press freedom group called on authorities to drop their new crimes against humanity case against journalists Shyamal Dutta, Mozammel Babu and Farzana Rupa, and stop criminalising news reporting.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) ordered prison authorities to produce the journalists - who have been detained since 2024 on separate charges - before the domestic war crimes court on 24th August.

Prosecutors allege the journalists incited the suppression of student demonstrators during a July 2024 uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. They say that the journalists asked Hasina provocative questions at a press conference on 14th July 2024 that led her to make disparaging remarks about the demonstrators before launching a bloody crackdown.

Mozammel Babu, founder and former editor-in-chief of the privately owned Ekattor TV, and Farzana Rupa, the channel’s former principal correspondent, were arrested in May 2026 in a separate ICT case over the 2013 security crackdown on Hefajat-e-Islam activists at Shapla Chatta. They were named in a formal charge sheet on 27th July alongside Hasina and 39 others.

Shyamal Dutta, editor of the privately owned Bhorer Kagoj and a former general secretary of the Jatiya Press Club, has been detained since September 2024 and faces multiple murder cases in retaliation for his journalism. If found guilty, the journalists could face the death penalty.

Arrests, harassment, threats and attacks targeting journalists

Journalists experienced separate incidents of arrests, harassment, threats and attacks while undertaking public-interest reporting.

Rezanur Islam, acting editor of Dainik Agrojatra Pratidin, was arrested by members of the Bogra Detective Branch (DB) on the night of 18th June 2026 from the Board Bazar area of Gazipur Sadar upazila. The arrest followed a complaint filed regarding a report published by the newspaper concerning alleged corruption involving LGRD State Minister Mir Shahe Alam.

According to EU SEE, on 13th August 2026 in Satkhira, Jamuna TV reporter Akramul Islam alleged that a deputy commissioner had threatened his employment after he sought information about a fugitive murder accused pursuing a land case.

In Shariatpur, Somoy TV journalist BM Israfil was allegedly attacked on 23rd August 2026 after a Facebook post and suffered a fractured wrist. On 25th August 2026, three reporters covering a protest were allegedly assaulted. A district BNP leader subsequently threatened further violence against journalists.

On 26th August 2026 in Kushtia, journalist Hasan Imam Ibne Habib received an anonymous letter ordering him to stop writing, threatening him with death and claiming that his movements were being monitored. On 28th August, two journalists in Meherpur were allegedly beaten, confined and deprived of their equipment while recording reported examination irregularities.

On 3rd September 2026, an Assistant Commissioner allegedly searched journalist Rafiqul Islam Saju’s home in Roumari, Kurigram, accompanied by police and Ansar personnel, reportedly after Saju questioned him about a land-related decision.

Detained for their critical online expression

Police detained 20-year-old student Sifat Abdullah in Gazipur on 3rd September 2026 after his Facebook video criticising electricity bills and using derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and people associated with the government, went viral.

He was shown arrested in a pre-existing Anti-Terrorism Act case and sent to jail. The case was filed on 17th June 2026 after a torch procession and alleged attacks by members of the Awami League and Chhatra League. Sifat was not among those named.

His bail was rejected on 7th September. Police then alleged links to a banned organisation, while his lawyer said the viral remarks were not mentioned in the FIR.

On 19th September 2026, police detained a youth in Sylhet city over allegations of posting abusive and derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Facebook. The detainee was identified as Mehedi Ahmed, 21, a resident of Noagaon Sadipur area. Police said Mehedi had been using obscene and offensive language against Tarique Rahman in Facebook posts

Attacks on cultural events

On 30th May 2026, planned public screenings of the government-certified Bangladeshi film Bonolota Express were stopped in Brahmanbaria district following objections from local religious student groups. Organisers said the event was cancelled after venue permission was withdrawn and they received no administrative support. A second attempted screening in Kasba upazila was also reportedly stopped after administrative intervention.

On 18th August 2026, students from a neighbouring madrasa entered a cultural programme organised inside the Brahmanbaria Police Lines, vandalised chairs and clashed with police. Approximately 30 people, including seven police personnel, were reportedly injured, and the programme ended prematurely. On 19th August, the Kishoreganj district administration cancelled a concert where Ashes, Nobleman and other bands were due to perform. Two days earlier, a local council of imams and Islamic scholars had submitted a memorandum describing the programme as contrary to its interpretation of Islamic religious principles.

Association

Woman human rights defender arrested in Moulvibazar

On 2nd September 2026, woman human rights defender, Gita Rani Kanu, was arrested by plainclothes police officers in Moulvibazar, having been named as the prime suspect in a criminal complaint filed by the Bangladesh Tea Workers’ Union. She was charged and subsequently sent to Moulvibazar District Jail, where she remains in detention.

According to Front Line Defenders, she has been accused on trumped-up charges of entering the office of the Bangladesh Tea Workers' Union, assaulting the General Secretary, stealing cash and vandalising furniture. At the time of the alleged incident, Gita Rani Kanu and other protesters were receiving treatment in hospital for injuries sustained as a result of being attacked on 31st August 2026 whilst holding a workers’ rights protest.

Gita Rani Kanu is a woman human rights defender, based in the Sylhet tea-growing region of Bangladesh. She works to promote tea workers’ rights and for years has been involved in organising around securing demands for their land rights, an increase in daily wages and union democracy.

She is the convener of the Bangladesh Tea Worker Women's Forum, General Secretary of Cha Sramik Moha Sangram Committee (Tea Workers’ Grand Struggle Committee), and a member secretary of Cha Sramik Adhikar Andolon (Tea Workers' Rights Movement).

National Human Rights Commission law passed despite civil society concerns

On 6th September 2026, parliament passed the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Bill 2026, despite concerns raised by civil society.

The NHRC law represents a worrying regression from the protections and safeguards contained in the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance, 2025, issued by the interim government. The Ordinance strengthened key safeguards relating to the Commission’s independence, investigative authority, appointments, pluralism, and mandate. However, the government scrapped it in April 2026.

The structure of the selection committee, which would be dominated by government officials, significantly increases political influence over appointments. This creates a serious conflict of interest, as government representatives would play a central role in selecting commissioners responsible for investigating government conduct.

The law also removes key safeguards from the 2025 ordinance that protected the Commission from executive interference. The absence of an explicit prohibition on ministerial control, the transfer of regulatory authority to the government, and the removal of constitutional protections relating to commissioners’ remuneration place the institution under direct executive influence.

A particularly alarming aspect of the law is its treatment of complaints involving law enforcement and security agencies. It establishes a procedure under which these institutions would effectively investigate themselves. The Commission would have no meaningful authority to compel testimony, inspect premises, seize documents, or independently verify facts in such cases.

At the same time, the law included requirements for the representation of women and members of ethnic minority or disadvantaged communities among the commissioners and for the NHRC to visit most places of detention, which is a genuine and significant improvement in Bangladesh.

Concerns about the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress law

On 6th September 2026, Bangladesh's Parliament passed the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Law 2026.

According to Fortify Rights, the bill recognises enforced disappearance as a distinct criminal offence and provides for the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators, efforts to locate disappeared persons, and certain rights and forms of reparation for victims and their families.

However, the bill contains serious flaws. The law fails to guarantee independent investigations, allowing security agencies who may be responsible for the crime to investigate themselves. Section 14 requires victims to lodge complaints with the officer-in-charge of a local police station rather than with an independent body. The bill also retains the death penalty as a possible punishment for those found guilty of an enforced disappearance, contrary to the growing international movement toward abolition of capital punishment.

Bangladesh previously had an ordinance, passed in 2025 by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, that gave ‘an independent commission the power to walk into any detention facility unannounced.’

Notorious police unit given a rebrand without independent oversight

On 17th September 2026, The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) was dissolved and replaced by a new specialised police unit, the Special Response Battalion (SRB). RAB’s powers, facilities, funds, manpower, assets and liabilities have all been transferred to the new force, according to the SRB Act. The new law lacked proper and inclusive consultation.

The RAB was weaponised under the previous regime to silence all forms of dissent. It has a track record of committing extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture with impunity. The UN human rights office (OHCHR) recommended disbanding RAB in February 2025 while the Police Reform Commission had recommended reassessment of the necessity of the RAB by reviewing its past activities and allegations of human rights violations.

This has failed to happen under the new BNP government which has instead decided to rebrand the unit.

The Kennedy Human Rights Center said: “The Special Response Battalion Act, as adopted, will not yield true reform. It retains the same framework and lacks the human rights vetting needed to ensure perpetrators are not simply exchanging one uniform for another. Independent oversight is equally critical. The SRB needs credible external oversight capable of receiving complaints, conducting independent investigations and holding accountable those responsible for misconduct.”

Activists slam ‘increased militarisation’ of the CHT

On 15th September 2026, a group of 52 prominent civil society activists, academics, lawyers and rights defenders criticised the government over alleged moves to increase militarisation in the conflict-scarred Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region.

The Bangladesh National Party (BNP) government issued notifications establishing the National Committee, the Executive Committee and the Advisory Committee on Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, ostensibly to resolve issues in the region.

The statement by the group protested the move, terming it an attempt to pave the way for the repression of the people on the hills through further militarisation. The activists say the formation of three committees to oversee CHT affairs without consulting people in the hills is unacceptable.

A 1997 peace agreement in the CHT has never been fully carried out. Nearly 29 years later, much of the region remains under military occupation, and most of the commitments laid out in the accord have yet to be realised. Continued militarisation had historically affected livelihoods, the environment, demography and the rights of Indigenous communities in the region.

Indigenous rights activists and civil society representatives continue to call for constitutional and legal recognition of Indigenous peoples and full implementation of the CHT Accord.

Arrests and prolonged detention of the banned opposition

Human Rights Watch has called on the government to take steps to end the prolonged pretrial detention of politicians and others linked to the deposed Awami League government. Police have detained thousands of party officials, activists, and supporters after Sheikh Hasina was forced to step down as prime minister in August 2024.

Though some officials may have been complicit in the Hasina government’s serious rights violations, HRW said that many were arrested without apparent evidence on allegations of murdering protesters. Their family members and lawyers allege that the detainees, many of them older people, some with serious health conditions, have been denied basic rights including bail and medical care.

Prosecutors have repeatedly sought to deny bail in cases in which no evidence has been produced. The lower magistrate and district courts have consistently refused bail, and High Court bail orders have been circumvented as government authorities file fresh cases.

There has been a ban on Awami League activities under the Anti-Terrorism Act since May 2025. The ban includes prohibitions on meetings, publications, and online speech supporting the party.

In June 2026, police arrested 26 leaders and activists of the Awami League and its associate bodies from different areas of the capital as they staged sporadic street marches to mark the party’s 77th founding.

On 1st September 2026, police arrested 13 leaders and activists of the Awami League as well as the affiliated Jubo League and the banned Chhatra League, in connection with various cases in Netrokona.

Police arrested 53 leaders and activists of the Awami League and its associate organisations in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country on 12th September 2026.

On 15th September 2026, former Awami League lawmaker Md Azizul Haque Arzu was arrested in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, after Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activists - the student wing of the BNP - detained him and handed him over to police.

Peaceful Assembly

Restrictions and disruption of protests

Authorities have continued to restrict and disrupt protests.

In July 2026, police stopped a group of protesting students outside Shikkha Bhaban in Dhaka as they marched towards the education ministry, demanding the resignation of the Education Minister. The students reached the area after marching through the Dhaka University campus but were blocked by police barricades set up earlier. Unable to proceed, the protesters gathered outside Shikkha Bhaban and chanted slogans as part of their previously announced "Long March to the Education Ministry" programme.

On 22nd August 2026, a pre-announced anti-corruption rally at Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar could not proceed after the police refused to allow it. The rally was jointly organised by Ahingsa Gono-Obhyutthan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bhumiheen Andolon and Bangladesh Rashtra Sanskar Andolon. According to the organisers, they had obtained written approval from Dhaka University to use the venue and notified the police 10 days in advance, requesting security arrangements. The police informed the organisers on 20th August that the rally would not be permitted, without specifying substantive grounds in its written response. They later said that permission was denied because a pending criminal case at Shahbag Police Station involved one of the three co-organisers.