HRW: Teachers Targeted for Supporting Sheikh Hasina as Freedom of Expression Erodes in Bangladesh

❐ Staff Reporter

The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stated in a report that several teachers and students of public universities are being unfairly punished for their alleged involvement with Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina and her party, the Awami League.

The organization said that these decisions, made without a fair investigation and opportunity for a defense, and based solely on political beliefs, violate international human rights law.

In a report published from London on November 4, HRW noted that since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in 2024, at least 20 public universities, including Dhaka University, Bangladesh Agricultural University, and Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, have seen a repeat of the political party-based behavior seen in the 1980s and 1990s.

According to the report, at least 44 teachers of Dhaka University were ordered to suspend their academic and administrative activities without a transparent investigation, of whom 6 were temporarily suspended and an investigation has been initiated against 14 others. In addition, 126 students were temporarily expelled and their certificates were suspended.

Similarly, 12 teachers have been dismissed and 34 have their work scopes restricted at Bangladesh Agricultural University. In addition, 12 teachers have been temporarily suspended at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University and the promotions of 85 teachers have been blocked.

Citing the example of Dr. Mashiur Rahman, a professor of sociology at Dhaka University and former vice-chancellor of the National University, the organization said that on September 25, 2024, he was ordered to refrain from all academic and administrative work. He was accused of calling the movement ‘illegal, baseless and irrational’ on a TV talk show in July 2024.

However, HRW did not find any such comments after reviewing the video footage broadcast on the talk show.

In addition, another charge of ‘inciting genocide’ was brought against him at Ganabhaban on August 3, 2024. Dr. Mashiur Rahman said that he was not given evidence of any such statement made at the meeting called by the UGC for the then VCs, and he denied it. On August 31, 2026, when the university authorities recommended his permanent dismissal, he appealed against it.

The basis for the disciplinary action against teachers at Bangladesh Agricultural University was a procession organized on the university campus on August 4, 2024 (the day before Sheikh Hasina left the country). The university’s investigation commission described the procession as a ‘terrorist’ procession.

However, HRW, analyzing a Facebook video released by the BUKRI Journalists Association, said that there was only a scene of people walking with slogans, but there was no sign of conflict or violence. Purba Islam, a professor of pharmacology, was dismissed on August 4, 2025, for allegedly shouting slogans during this procession, although there was no scene of her shouting slogans in the video.

On the same day, Professor Yahya Khandaker of the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics was also dismissed. However, he said that he was with his family in Dhaka and not on campus during the entire protest. Later, the High Court stayed his dismissal order, but the Attorney General’s Office appealed against it.

The organization says that three teachers have already been convicted of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal (two of whom are currently in prison) and another is awaiting trial.

“Any retaliatory action against individuals who peacefully supported the previous government demonstrates that freedom of speech and assembly are not protected in the country. Universities should be places of free thought, not places where support for the then government is forced,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy director of HRW.

HRW’s analysis has found that in some cases, teachers and students are being targeted with false and politically motivated allegations for speaking out on social media, progressive political groups, Telegram groups, or television, which is hindering freedom of expression and the exercise of free thought in the educational arena.