BNP Government Arbitrarily Detaining Opposition Figures and Potential Rivals, HRW Says

Staff Correspondent | 7 October 2026

The BNP government in Bangladesh has been arbitrarily detaining potential opponents since coming to power in February, the New York-based human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused. The organization says these mass arrests continue the cycle of political repression in the country.

“The BNP came to power promising to restore human rights and the rule of law. But the new government has arbitrarily detained potential opponents and rolled back human rights protections proposed by the interim government,” said Elaine Pearson, the organization’s Asia director, in a statement.

290 people arrested at JSD meeting

The latest incident, HRW reported, was a meeting of a small leftist party in Dhaka on September 26. According to the organization, members of the Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, the youth wing of the ruling BNP, claimed that the rally of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) was actually a “secret meeting” of the banned Awami League. Police then took about 290 JSD supporters into custody. The court remanded 27 of those arrested, alleging that they had raised the slogan “Joy Bangla,” which is associated with the Awami League.

JSD was a member of the Awami League-led 14-party alliance from 2009 to 2024. In 2024, the government was toppled in a student-led movement that left hundreds of people dead at the hands of security forces.

Awami League supporters arrested

HRW said police have repeatedly raided alleged gatherings of Awami League supporters. On the same day, September 26, 12 Awami League activists were arrested in Barisal on charges of “planning sabotage.” Two days later, 15 people were arrested in Dhaka on similar charges under the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Act. In both incidents, the detainees said they had gathered to mark Sheikh Hasina’s birthday.

According to the organization, since being elected, the government has arbitrarily detained its potential opponents, and several hundred Awami League members are currently in prison, most without charge.

“Past violations cannot be an argument”

Pearson said that freedom of expression and association are guaranteed to everyone under international human rights law. The fact that these rights were violated during the Awami League era cannot be used as an excuse for current violations. He added that there are many examples in Bangladesh’s history of where such repression can go.

HRW recalled that Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian rule was marked by widespread and serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention of political opponents, and that the BNP was also subjected to severe repression during that time.

As of the time of writing, there has been no response from the government, police, or BNP regarding the statement.