At Least 187 Children Arbitrarily Arrested in Six Months, 127 Under Anti-Terrorism Law: Human Rights Group JMBF Expresses Concern

Staff Correspondent

France-based international human rights organization Justicemakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) has released a six-month monitoring report on the arbitrary arrest of politically motivated children in Bangladesh from April 1 to September 30.

According to the report, at least 187 children have been arbitrarily arrested across the country for peaceful political expression associated with the Bangladesh Awami League.

The report states that under the BNP government, serious human rights violations have occurred in Bangladesh, undermining the safety, dignity, continuity of education, and justice of children.

The organization released the report from its headquarters in Paris on October 5. It was published in the form of a press release on the organization’s official website and social media.

At the same time, emails were sent to the UN Human Rights Council, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, UNICEF headquarters, the European Parliament’s Human Rights Subcommittee, the European Commission headquarters, and various media outlets, national and international human rights organizations, and foreign embassies in Bangladesh.

According to the report,

• The highest number of children were arbitrarily arrested in May—60 (32.09%).
• 42 people (22.46%) in September,
• 38 people (20.32%) in August,
• 32 people (17.11%) in June,
• 9 people (4.81%) in April and
• In July, 6 (3.21%) children were arrested.

The JMBF confirmed that at least 127 children (67.91%) arrested were charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Another 2 children were arrested under the Special Powers Act, 1 under the Speedy Trial Act, 5 under the Explosive Substances Act and 1 under the Cyber-related Act.

The organization could not reliably identify under which specific law the arrests were made in the remaining 51 children (27.27%).

A total of 74 children (39.57%) were arrested in connection with peaceful political processions or flash marches in support of the Bangladesh Awami League. And 57 (30.48%) were arrested in connection with preparations for processions or political activities.

According to documented data, at least 69 children (36.90%) were sent to child development centers after arrest. However, in the case of 111 children (59.36%), the JMBF could not reliably confirm where they were kept after arrest.

JMBF calls on the Bangladesh government to immediately stop the arbitrary arrest and detention of children for political expression, political identity, or participation in peaceful processions, rallies, and socio-political activities.

They demanded that the cases of children detained in such incidents be reviewed promptly, their release be ensured, and politically motivated charges be dropped to ensure the human rights of children.

At the same time, the application of other harsh special laws, including anti-terrorism laws, that criminalize peaceful political activities of children must be stopped. In any legal proceedings against children, their age, best interests, and child-sensitive procedures must be given the highest priority, and detention must be considered only as a measure of last resort.