Though BNP leaders collected nomination papers to contest the polls, the party-led 20-party alliance on Wednesday termed a ‘serious conspiracy, blueprint and farce’ the announcement of schedule for Dhaka and Chittagong city polls at a time when its movement is…
The British House of Commons has recorded an early day motion (EDM) supported by 10 MPs noting with alarm the lack of free and open democratic process in Bangladesh. The motion sponsored by liberal democrat Huppert Julian calls upon the…
Election Working Group (EWG), a 29-member coalition of civil society organisations, on Monday urged the Election Commission to ensure a level-playing field for the candidates contesting the upcoming elections to the three city corporations of Dhaka and Chittagong. “EWG welcomes…
New York – The Bangladeshi authorities should immediately order an independent investigation into the enforced disappearance of Salah Uddin Ahmed, spokesperson and joint-secretary of the opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP). Ahmed was last seen on the evening of March 10,…
Renewing her claim that law enforcers picked up BNP joint secretary general Salahuddin Ahmed, his wife Hasina Ahmed on Thursday demanded that the BNP leader be returned unharmed. She came up with the demand at a press briefing at Law…
March 11, Washington, DC – Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and Mexico may be rising economic powerhouses, but these five fast-growing, middle income countries are still home to nearly half of the world’s hungry, or 363 million people. That is why…
Following reports that the Bangladeshi police force is proposing immunity from prosecution for acts of torture by police officers, Amnesty International is urging the Government of Bangladesh to: – Reject the proposal outright and publicly declare that no one against…
Bangladesh authorities should investigate and bring to justice in fair trials all those responsible for heinous petrol bomb attacks, Amnesty International said after another 20 people were wounded overnight, the Amnesty International has said in a statement on Thursday. There…
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Dr Mizanur Rahman has said the persons involved with extra-judicial killings must be brought to justice, following a meeting with Chief Justice SK Sinha at the latter’s office on Thursday. “Drawing the attention of…
The UN Human Rights Organisation has condemned the murder of blogger Avijit Roy in Dhaka on Thursday, Secretary General’s spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said at the daily briefing at the UN heaqquarters on Friday. Replying to a question the spokesman said,…
“Victims of violence deserve proper justice…there was a fruitful discussion on the importance of upholding the rule of law and respecting human rights as fundamental instruments for de-escalating political tensions,” says a media release issued by the EU Delegation to…
US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has blamed the murder of writer-blogger Avijit Roy on a ‘culture of impunity’ persisting in Bangladesh and called for a swift and effective probe to bring the murderers to justice. Bangladeshi authorities should swiftly…
Amnesty International, the global human rights watchdog in its annual report for 2014 has said. “The exact number of people who were forcibly disappeared was not known; some estimates suggested over 80. Of the documented cases of 20 people subjected…
Some 1,101 doctors in a joint statement yesterday expressed their deep concern over the ongoing political stalemate. The statement said six people have become victims of extrajudicial killing in 24 hours on Monday but police claimed that the victims were…
A delegation of the European Parliament (EP) met BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office on Tuesday evening in the first leg of their visit to Bangladesh to assess the human rights situation.. The BNP told the visiting delegation…
The Federation of Human Rights Organisations, a platform of different local right bodies, has sent a letter to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia seeking her schedule for holding a meeting with her about the country’s human rights situation.
New York – Photographs, videos, and witness statements strongly indicate that a member of Egypt’s security forces was responsible for fatally shooting a female protester in a downtown Cairo square on January 24, 2015, Human Rights Watch said today. Evidence…
The International crisis group wants the AL government to commit to nonrepressive response to political dissent and the Bnp to non-violent political opposition for steering clear of the present political crisis prevailing in Bangladesh. The brussels-based group in its report…
New York – With no end in sight to politically motivated violence and other abuses in Bangladesh, state authorities need to ensure their response respects the rights of all and avoids arbitrary use of force, arrests, and disappearances, Human Rights…
Eric Goldstein The brutal murder of Jordanian pilot First Lt. Muath al-Kasasbeh by the extremist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS) set off a wave of outrage and sadness across Jordan, sparking calls in the streets and media for…
The Bangladeshi authorities risk exacerbating an already violent situation by giving police carte blanche to use excessive force in response to a recent wave of horrific petrol bomb attacks amid ongoing violent political protests, Amnesty International said on Friday. Media…
The government has protested the statement issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), a UN body, over the country’s present situation on 16 January last. A formal letter in this regard has been sent to…
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…
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the government to take tough legal measures against those responsible for the violence unleashed amid the countrywide blockade. In a statement on Friday, the commission expressed concern and said brutality against ‘innocent…
Lima Fakih and Ami Braunschweiger When Lebanon was part of the Ottoman Empire – before it was even a country – its religious groups were allowed to oversee the equivalent of family law. French colonizers upheld this system, and today…
The human rights situation in Bangladesh continues to deteriorate as the government and opposition supporters have battled each other in the streets of Dhaka and other major cities in the past three weeks, Amnesty International has said in its latest…
Izza Leghtas Last Sunday people filled the streets of Paris and other French cities and towns in an overwhelming expression of solidarity with the victims of the brutal attacks last week that left 17 people dead. People of all ages…
Jean-Marie Fardeau France is still in shock. On January 10 and 11, millions of people around the world rallied to express their outrage after the murder of 17 innocent people – some because they worked at the satirical weekly Charlie…
The Burmese government should accept the United Nations call to amend the discriminatory law that deprives Rohingya Muslims of Burmese citizenship, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday in a letter to President Thein Sein. On December 29, 2014, the UN General…
New York – The Bangladesh government should immediately end its use of excessive force, stop arbitrary arrests of members of opposition parties, and lift restrictions on the media, Human Rights Watch said on Friday. Hundreds of opposition activists, including from…