With the imposition of a curfew and the detention of hundreds of student protesters, young people are living under the constant threat of police harassment. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police sources report that over 85% of those detained are students and ordinary citizens. Recent extensive raids by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in response to the quota reform protests have led to the arrests of over 11,100 individuals (Arrested Keno, 2024). The actual number could be higher, as many detentions go unrecorded, according to protest coordinator Quader.
The government has created an environment of fear through nighttime raids, phone checks, interrogations, and widespread detentions. Security forces are conducting raids throughout neighborhoods, focusing particularly on students, lecturers, journalists, and activists in the capital, Dhaka. The fate of some detainees remains unknown, with student leaders and families unable to make contact with them.
Joint forces, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), have cut internet connections and turned off street lights in targeted areas, intensifying the climate of fear and confusion. Social media is flooded with posts from the relatives of missing students, seeking assistance and expressing their worries. Many residents, still traumatized by recent violence, live in constant fear, and numerous families have already left their homes in anticipation of fleeing Dhaka.
Key student leaders, including Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, Abu Baker Majumder, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, and Nusrat Islam, had been in the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) for nearly a week. The DB claims that their detention is for their own protection, a claim that warrants scrutiny.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has stated that the five coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement have not been arrested and will be released once the police believe they are safe. However, questions arise about why they need “protection” against their will if they did not request it. Since their release on August 1, 2024, their social media accounts have been deactivated, and there have been no further updates.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has condemned the police crackdown for “excessive and lethal force against protesters and others,” calling for an independent investigation into the conduct of the police. Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, has criticized the actions, suggesting that they serve a hidden agenda under the guise of accountability. He points to severe human rights violations and arbitrary arrests of students and ordinary people, including teenagers, contributing to a pervasive climate of fear.
The Bangladesh authorities are grossly violating even basic human rights enshrined by the principles of human rights defined by the United Nations, of which Bangladesh is a member state.
We believe that the current autocratic regime in Bangladesh has failed to guarantee and respect the dignity and basic rights of its people. Furthermore, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the ruling Awami League party were not elected by the popular vote.
The current political turmoil in Bangladesh originates from the people’s profound frustration with the government, which, in its 16 years of power, has demonstrated more and more undemocratic overreach and created an environment of fear and oppression.
We believe that the people of Bangladesh deserve to have their democratic and human rights restored, free and fair elections and just and fair governance which respects the will of its people.