Law enforcers remain unaccountable: Human Rights Watch

Security forces carried out abductions, killings, and arbitrary arrests, particularly targeting opposition leaders and supporters. In a positive development, after years of impunity for the security forces, several members of the notorious Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) were arrested following the abduction and apparent con-tract killings of seven people in May.
Hundreds were killed and injured in violent attacks surrounding the controversial January elections. Both Bangladesh’s ruling party, as well as opposition parties, were responsible for the violence, the New York-based Himan Rightd Watch said in its annula report on Thursday
Supporters of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami party threw petrol bombs to enforce strikes and economic blockades. Before and after the election, attackers also vandalised homes and shops owned by members of Bangladesh’s Hindu and Christian communities. In response, the government cracked down on opposition members, naming hundreds of them as suspects in violent attacks. Members of law enforcement agencies carried out extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and unlawful destruction of private property, the report complained..
Authorities arrested several members of the notorious Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) following intense public outrage over the abduction and apparent contract killings of seven men in Narayangunj in April.
The report says, Although the government claims that almost 2,000 RAB members have been punished for various misdemeanors since the group’s inception, there was not a single prosecution for extrajudicial executions, torture, or arbitrary arrests before the Narayanganj incident. Independent organizations estimate that the RAB has been responsible for approximately 800 unlawful killings over the past 10 years. Allegations of violations by members of the police and other law enforcement agencies, including the Border Guard Bangladesh, were not independently investigated or prosecuted.
Several countries condemned the attacks surrounding the polls, which were the most violent since the country’s independence. The international community attempted to facilitate a negotiated settlement to prevent the one-sided national elections in January. However, countries including the United States and India, that have some influence in Bangladesh, were unable to press for an agreement.
According to the report, efforts by the UN to mediate also failed. Several countries including the US and United Kingdom expressed concern about violations by security forces. However, they failed to call for the RAB to be disbanded. The US continued to engage with the RAB on stablishing internal discipline mechanisms.
During the year there was intense international scrutiny on international brands sourcing from Bangladesh after the collapse of Rana Plaza.
Both the US and the European Union, Bangladesh’s two largest overseas markets for garments, called on the government and garments industry to implement global labor standards. The US continued to suspend Bangladesh’s trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). In July 2013, the EU warned that Bangladesh might lose its duty-free and quota-free access if it did not improve its record on labor rights and workplace safety, but did not take any further steps.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations working with the Rohingya refugees at the Burmese border continued to face pressure from the government and limited access to the camps.
On civil society and the media the report said, the government introduced several measures aimed at cracking down on critics, continuing a trend from the previous year.
In July, the government proposed the draft Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act, designed to regulate operations and funding for any group receiving foreign grants, including Bangladesh offices of foreign and interna-tional organizations. The draft law contains unnecessary, onerous, and intrusive provisions, with vague and overly broad language to control NGOs.
In August, the government published a new media policy for all audio, video, and audio-visual content transmitted through any means which contains overly broad language aimed at significantly curtailing critical reporting. Several television and news outlets that were shut down in 2013 for critical reporting remained closed through 2014, the report addded.