Press Bangladesh to create environ conducive to polls

UN rights experts have urged the Human Rights Council and the international community to press upon Bangladesh the urgency and importance of ensuring a safe, open, and conducive environment for free and fair elections.

The experts include Irene Khan, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, and Mary Lawlor, who are special rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, on rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and on the situation of human rights defenders respectively.

The United Nations Human Rights Special Procedures yesterday sent a press release to the media.

Expressing concern over the "severe crackdown" against RMG workers demanding fair wages, political activists, and their family members, human rights defenders, and civil society members, the experts said, "As Bangladesh heads towards national elections in early 2024, we are deeply disturbed by the sharp rise of such incidents."

They also expressed alarm at the threats to media freedom, noting that attacks, surveillance, intimidation, and judicial harassment of the press over the past several years have led to widespread self-censorship in the media.

"The weaponisation of the judicial system to attack journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society leaders diminishes the independence of the judiciary and erodes fundamental human rights," the experts said.

As an example of judicial harassment, they highlighted the case of investigative journalist Rozina Islam, in which the prosecution failed to produce material evidence after two years of investigation, repeated hearings, and a travel ban affecting her work.

In September, the secretary and director of the leading human rights organisation, Odhikar, were convicted and imprisoned on charges of publishing "fake information" when, in fact, they had documented extrajudicial killings and excessive use of force by security forces in 2013, which the Bangladeshi government has never investigated. Odhikar was denied renewal of its registration last year, the press release said.

"When prominent civil society leaders like Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus or human rights defenders like Adilur Rahman Khan or Nasiruddin Elan are charged or convicted in retaliation for human rights work, it sends a chilling message to all journalists and human rights defenders that any dissent or critical opinion may lead to the most severe sanctions, no matter how outrageous the accusations or how prominent the person," said the experts.

"According to the authorities, over 5,600 cases related to freedom of expression, including those of prominent journalists and editors, are still pending under the much-criticised draconian Digital Services Act," noted the experts.

"Despite promises from the government of significant legal change, which we warmly welcomed, the new Cyber Security Act has made only a few improvements and continues to retain many of the flaws of the legislation, threatening the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression."

"The universal periodic review of the Human Rights Council is an opportunity for Bangladesh not only to reiterate its commitment to human rights in words but to take urgent, concrete action to end attacks on human rights defenders and journalists," the experts added.