Last week, a group of widely respected senior lawyers raised concerns about the lack of proper legal rights and procedures in high-profile trials in Bangladesh. They highlighted that there had been a complete disregard for due process and that lawyers are facing intimidation and harassment for simply doing their job.
Since the Interim Government came into power after the fall of Sheikh Hasina in 2024, they have pledged to address the inequality and corruption that brought people out onto the streets in the first place. However, nearly 18 months down the line, the country remains in disarray, with a government intent on retribution. Nowhere is this more evident than in the unequal application of the law.
The concerns, raised by the former justice secretary under Boris Johnson, the former Tory attorney general, and a set of renowned lawyers, are not a one off. Since coming into power, the Interim Government has appeared to prioritise vindictive and targeted policies informed, it would seem, more by personal vendettas and settling scores than driving the country forward.
Following the in-absentia trial of Sheikh Hasina, police in Bangladesh arrested upwards of 1,000 members of the Awami League and continued to target its leadership. It is little wonder that India has shown no interest in repatriating Sheikh Hasina to return to this legal mess.
That political targeting has also extended to the business community. Recently, the Interim Government announced they had identified six businesses which they intend to target for asset recovery, blaming them for the country’s economic woes. But as business communities see leaders coming under fire, there appears to have been a cooling effect with international investment in the country drying up.
The collapse of law and order in the country coupled with the mess that has become of the courts system has meant that the Interim Government has taken to relying on international agencies to do enforcement for them. In the last few months, they have increasingly begun to issue Interpol red notices, primarily using them against people who were aligned with the former government, not people who have committed serious crimes, a flagrant violation of proper due process.
However, the overreliance on measures like Interpol red notices undermines the effectiveness of the measure. This is particularly true given that several notices have been issued for people who are not fugitives, and claim they have never been contacted by the Bangladeshi authorities. If the Interim Government carries on with this approach, Bangladesh is at risk of becoming the boy who cried wolf, undermining foreign governments’ belief that the Interim Government has the interests of the country at heart.
The lack of due process in the country is a serious concern for many reasons, but it is especially pressing looking ahead to February 2026, when elections are scheduled to take place. In addition to voting in a new government, the country is also expected to vote on a referendum on the July Charter, which will fundamentally reshape Bangladesh’s constitution. In the context of deepening political divides in Bangladesh, growing tensions with India and the ongoing economic collapse the country is facing, ensuring that the upcoming elections are free, fair, and supported by a functioning democracy and legal system is of utmost importance. The world needs to wake up to the alarm bells ringing in Bangladesh, or things will only get worse.
