The undersigned human rights organizations express our serious concerns over ongoing, brutal crackdowns on protesters in Bangladesh by law enforcement agencies, security forces, and members of the ruling party. Students across the country are protesting against a system of quotas in the recruitment of public servants. The government of Bangladesh has deployed Police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and Border Guards-Bangladesh (BGB) to quell the protests in major cities around the country. We urge the Government to immediately cease these crackdowns on student protests.

Credible information analyzed by human rights groups and media reports confirms that at least 33 people have been killed, including a journalist, since the protests commenced on 15 July, while scores were seriously injured. Law enforcement agencies and security forces have been seen driving armored personnel carriers (APCs), and local and international media have reported on the use of teargas, sound grenades, rubber and pellet bullets, and water cannons against protesters. Media reports indicate that members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the ruling party’s student wing, were seen beating protesters, including women students, with both blunt and sharp weapons and guns. The government has shut down universities and other educational institutions, with students ordered to vacate the dormitories.

Human rights defenders and journalists, who have requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, report that, as of late night on 18 July, joint forces comprising the Police, RAB, and BGB were conducting massive crackdowns across Dhaka and other cities with public universities. The government has reportedly shut down electricity and blacked out communications, including mobile phone networks and the internet, during these operations. Journalists were allegedly prevented from covering the violent actions of the security forces and law enforcement agencies. Members of the BCL wearing helmets and carrying weapons are reported to have entered the emergency units of hospitals to further attack injured protesters. The police have been accused of preventing ambulances from helping wounded students at the Jahangirnagar University on the outskirts of Dhaka. Bangladesh-based journalists have been forced to censor their reports of the gross abuses being carried out by the security forces. The police have registered several cases against named and un-named protesters, and large-scale arbitrary arrests and detention are going on while torture in custody is a norm of the law enforcement agencies in the country.

Bangladesh’s law enforcement agencies consistently disregard the United Nations’ Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The government of Bangladesh, under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has established an ‘appalling and pervasive culture of impunity’ for gross human rights violations and a system of rewarding perpetrators. In the given context, victims of serious human rights violations are systematically deprived of access to justice. Bangladesh has consistently failed to hold perpetrators accountable for gross human rights violations over the past decade. 

This has created a de facto system of denial of justice in Bangladesh, which warrants the international community’s urgent attention to hold perpetrators accountable and demand that the Bangladeshi government comply with its international human rights obligations. There are growing concerns that members of the security forces and members of the Judiciary regularly enjoy the opportunity to join the UN Peacekeeping Operations. In light of such ongoing massive violations of human rights, personnel of security forces, law enforcement agencies, and the police should be banned from participating in the UN Peacekeeping Missions without a credible system of scrutiny.

We strongly call on the Bangladeshi government to immediately stop the crackdown on protests and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with the students and investigate the use of violence to stifle the demonstrations. Perpetrators should be held accountable through genuine and independent investigations. The international community, including the UN Department of Peace Operations, has a responsibility to ensure that the same forces that are committing crimes in Bangladesh do not join peacekeeping forces abroad.

Signed:

• Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
• Capital Punishment Justice Project
• Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances
• Eleos Justice, Monash University
• Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network

The undersigned organizations are alarmed by the recent publication by the Chinese authorities of new judicial guidelines  providing directives to prosecute and harshly punish, including by the death penalty, those advocating and acting for  Taiwan’s independence. The guidance effectively encourages China’s courts and law enforcement agencies to violate  several rights established under international human rights law and standards, including the rights to life, to the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and to a fair trial. We call on the Chinese authorities to immediately withdraw the guidelines and swiftly introduce legislative changes to repeal vague and overly broad national security-related offences and the death penalty, as critical first steps. 

On 21 June 2024, the Supreme People’s Court of China jointly issued with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the  Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security and Ministry of Justice the “Opinions on Punishing ‘Taiwan  Independence’ Diehards for Conducting or Inciting Separatism in Accordance with Law” (henceforth, guidelines).1 The  guidelines are based on existing provisions under China’s Anti-Secession Law, Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law; and encourage lower courts and various government and law enforcement agencies to prosecute and punish as national  security offences various acts, including peaceful ones, aimed at the pursuit of the independence of Taiwan from China.  The guidelines came into effect upon publication.  

Our organizations are gravely concerned by the violations of human rights that are encouraged and would be carried out  through the implementation of these guidelines. By explicitly criminalizing and demanding harsh punishments for peaceful acts that aim at advocating for Taiwan’s independence, the Chinese authorities are cracking down under the  pretext of national security on the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and other human rights.  

According to internationally recognized human rights standards, “national security” cannot be invoked to justify  restrictions on rights and freedoms unless genuinely and demonstrably intended to protect a state’s existence or territorial  integrity against specific threats of the use of force;2 nor can this national security framework legitimately be applied by governments to entrench a particular ideology or deny people the right to express different political views and to exercise  their other human rights as protected by international legal standards.3 Expression can only be punished as a threat to  national security when the authorities can demonstrate that the speaker has the intent to incite violence, there is a  likelihood that the expression will incite such violence and a direct and immediate connection between the expression and  the likelihood or occurrence of such violence.4 Speech such as advocating for a change in government or government  policy, as well as criticism or even insult of a state’s institutions or its symbols, or exposure of human rights violations, is  protected under international human rights law and must not be restricted or penalized on national security grounds.5 Likewise, demanding territorial changes in the form of autonomy or even secession in speeches and demonstrations does  

not automatically amount to a threat to the country’s territorial integrity and national security.6 The UN Human Rights  Committee, the UN body tasked with monitoring the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political  Rights (ICCPR) – which China signed in 1998 – has frequently rejected attempts to justify far-reaching restrictions with  vague references to “national security”.7 

Of additional concern is the broad definition of aggravating circumstances that would warrant the harshest penalties,  including the death penalty, under sections 6 and 7 of the guidelines.8International human rights law and standards set  out that the imposition of the death penalty must not be based on “vaguely defined criminal provisions, whose application  to the convicted individual depend on subjective or discretionary considerations, the application of which is not  reasonably foreseeable.”9 These are necessary requirements prescribed by the principle of legality, a core general  principle of law, enshrined, among other places, in Article 15 of the ICCPR and Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of  Human Rights. Without an explicit and effective requirement to comply with international human rights law, vague terms  leave the law open to abuse by authorities who use it to crack down on a wide range of human rights.10 Vaguely drafted  laws can lead to a chilling effect and ultimately self-censorship in public debate, including online. 

We oppose the death penalty absolutely and are already greatly concerned at the overall lack of transparency that  surrounds the use of the death penalty in China. We are further alarmed that the guidelines recommend the imposition of  this cruel punishment in violation of the principle of legality; and as a result of trials where the defendant is not present (in  absentia), including on people in other countries. Death sentences imposed in unfair proceedings are arbitrary in nature  and amount to a violation of the right to life.11 Furthermore, pending full abolition of the death penalty, international law  and standards restrict its use to the “most serious crimes”, most recently interpreted as referring to “crimes of extreme  gravity involving intentional killing”.12 The majority of acts criminalized in the guidelines do not meet this minimum  threshold.13 

We call on the Chinese government and all authorities to review and amend all laws and regulations, and end all related  policies and measures, that violate human rights, in particular the rights to life, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly  and association, and ensure that any legal provisions aimed at protecting national security are clearly and narrowly  defined and conform to international human rights law and standards. We urge the authorities to establish an immediate  moratorium on all executions, as well as initiate legislative amendments to fully abolish the death penalty and commute all  death sentences.  

This statement is co-signed by:  

1. Amnesty International 
2. Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network 
3. Capital Punishment Justice Project 
4. The Rights Practice 
5. World Coalition Against the Death Penalty 

***

1. English translation available at https://en.spp.gov.cn/2024-06/21/c_998795.htm 
2. Siracusa Principles on the Limitation and Derogation of Provisions in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, UN Doc. E/CN.4/1985/4,  paras. 29-30. 
3. Johannesburg Principles on National Security, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, adopted on 1 October 1995 by a group of experts in  international law, national security, and human rights convened by Article 19, the International Centre Against Censorship, in collaboration with the  Centre for Applied Legal Studies of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, http://www.article19.org/data/files/pdfs/standards/joburgprinciples.pdf 4 Johannesburg Principle 6. 
4. Johannesburg Principle 7.
5. European Court of Human Rights, Stankov and the United Macedonian Organisation Ilinden v. Bulgaria, application numbers (29225/95 and  29221/95), 2001, para. 97. 
6. UN Human Rights Committee, “General Comment 34: Freedom of opinion and expression (Art. 19)”, UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/34, 12 September 2011,  paras. 21-26. 
7. For example, the death penalty may be imposed for those “who cause particularly serious harm to the state and the people” and when the  circumstances of the crime are “particularly heinous”. 
8. Human Rights Committee, General comment No. 36 (2018) on article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to life,  UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/36, para.38. 
9. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Report, 15 December 2003, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2004/3, paras 64-65. 
10. UN Human Rights Committee, General comment No. 36 (2018) on article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to  life, UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/36, para.41. 
11. UN Human Rights Committee, General comment No. 36 (2018) on article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to  life, UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/36, para.35. 
12. Conduct considered as “serious crime” include directly participating in the implementation of major separatist activities of an organization advocating  for Taiwan’s independence; or carrying out activities advocating for Taiwan’s independence with serious consequences and adverse impacts; and  playing a significant role in separatist activities.

The undersigned organizations express our deep concern about Bangladesh’s current human rights situation and closure of civic space as the country heads toward national elections on  7 January 2024.  

Since late October 2023, following the rallies and demonstrations co-organized by the political opposition,  the ruling party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Awami League, has resorted to violence to suppress  protests and political dissent. The crackdown has resulted in 17 people being killed, including a journalist,  and 8,249 opposition leaders injured. Moreover, at least 50 people were injured as a result of a clash  between police, ruling party and opposition party activists during a human chain organized on the  commemoration of the International Human Rights Day in the Sayestanagar area of Habiganj. These cases  further emphasize the urgent need for accountability and a thorough and independent investigation into the  circumstances leading to the violence and the killings. 

The indiscriminate and excessive use of tear gas, sticks, batons, rubber bullets, and similar instruments by  law enforcement authorities raises serious concerns about the escalation of violence. Immediate action is  needed to address the abuse of police equipment. The disproportionate use of such tools not only violates  the fundamental rights of citizens but also exacerbates tensions, creating an environment that undermines  dissent, peaceful assembly and democratic dialogue. Security forces must urgently follow the international  human rights standards, including the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms  by Law Enforcement Officials and the United Nations Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in  Law Enforcement.  

In addition, since the end of October, the Bangladeshi government has massively and arbitrarily detained  more than 20,000 individuals identified or perceived as the opposition. The arrests are related to 837  fabricated charges cases, where bail is consistently denied despite valid grounds and due process  guarantees are undermined. There have also been consistent and credible reports of torture and illegal  isolation of detainees in custody. The alleged torture inflicted on persons in custody is not limited to the  detentions that occurred over the past month but rather has been reported in the past and includes  “beatings; electric shocks; waterboarding; deliberately shooting to maim, including knee-capping; mock  executions; and forced nudity.”  

The government is systematically using the judiciary to convict the key opposition leaders en masse,  through prosecuting in the extended hours in the evenings to disqualify the potential opposition candidates  ahead of the January 7, 2024, elections, as pre-planned months ago. The large-scale detentions and  convictions not only erode the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, freedom, personal  integrity, and the right to a fair trial but also leave countless families in distress, as the detained individuals  are often the sole income earners of their households. 

The extensive use of violence and arbitrary detentions in Bangladesh paints a grim picture of the state of  democracy and human rights in the country. These abuses are committed in the context of a social  movement in which the people are demanding free and fair elections next January. Instead of upholding  the fundamental principles of democracy, the Bangladeshi government’s violent and repressive response  “has created an environment of fear, anxiety and extreme insecurity for citizens”.  

United Nations experts shared their concern about this violent crackdown: “As Bangladesh heads towards  national elections in early 2024, we are deeply disturbed by the sharp rise in political violence, arrests of  senior opposition leaders, mass arbitrary detention of thousands of political activists, use of excessive force  by the authorities and internet shutdowns to disrupt protests, and allegations of harassment, intimidation  and unlawful detention of family members as a retaliatory measure”. 

Another concern is the draft Data Protection Act, which allows law enforcement unrestricted authority to  access citizens’ data “if it is deemed necessary for national security or prevention or detection of an  offence”. Misuse of such power could lead to widespread surveillance, particularly of political dissenters,  and poses a threat to human rights, particularly the right to privacy. The cases in which the collection and  access are necessary must be defined clearly and narrowly tailored to the legitimate purposes they aim  to accomplish, limited in time and scope, and subject to an independent judicial review. 

We stand with the people of Bangladesh as they strive for a fair, democratic, and peaceful society. We  strongly urge an immediate halt to the violence, repression, and intimidation targeting political opponents.  Hence, we call on the government of Bangladesh to: 

1. Immediately cease violence against protesters and ensure that the rights to freedom of expression,  freedom of peaceful assembly, life, liberty, and personal integrity are respected and protected. 2. Immediately and unconditionally drop all the politically-motivated cases, release all arbitrarily  detained activists and opposition members, and ensure fair and transparent judicial processes. 3. Conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the gross human rights violations, particularly  cases involving deaths and torture allegations. 
2. Reevaluate and revise the Draft Data Protection Act to ensure it aligns with international standards,  protecting the privacy and rights of citizens. 

Furthermore, we urge the international community to closely monitor the situation and advocate for the  protection of fundamental rights in Bangladesh. 

Signed: 

1. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) 
2. Capital Punishment Justice Project (CPJP) 
3. The United Against Torture Consortium (UATC) 
4. Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) 
5. Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) 
6. International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED)