JMBF Calls for an Immediate Moratorium on Executions and the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Bangladesh
JMBF firmly believes that the death penalty constitutes an irreversible and inhumane punishment that is incompatible with the fundamental principles of human dignity and the right to life. No criminal justice system is immune from wrongful convictions, judicial errors, discrimination, or political interference. The execution of an innocent person represents an irreversible miscarriage of justice for which no remedy can provide adequate redress.
JMBF is particularly concerned about the imposition of 22 death sentences, including one against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in cases connected with the July–August 2024 uprising. According to reports published on 15 September 2026, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) had sentenced 22 individuals to death in seven cases, with 18 reportedly outside custody and four detained. Several defendants, including Sheikh Hasina, were convicted in absentia. JMBF expresses grave concern that these death sentences were imposed amid serious questions regarding judicial independence, prosecutorial impartiality, effective legal representation, and procedural safeguards.
JMBF firmly believes that the ongoing ICT proceedings are politically motivated and seriously compromised by systemic deficiencies in due process and judicial independence. The organisation is concerned that criminal proceedings are being used as instruments of political retaliation against individuals associated with the former Awami League government rather than as impartial mechanisms for delivering justice.
These concerns are reinforced by criticism from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which have raised serious concerns regarding fair-trial guarantees, defence rights, proceedings in absentia, and capital punishment. JMBF emphasises that such deficiencies undermine the credibility of the Tribunal and create an unacceptable risk of irreversible miscarriages of justice.
Bangladesh continues to retain capital punishment for numerous offences under the Penal Code, the Anti-Terrorism Act, the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973, and other special legislation. Its continued application is particularly alarming given longstanding concerns regarding arbitrary arrests, custodial torture, coerced confessions, inadequate legal representation, and weaknesses in judicial independence.
The scale of capital punishment in Bangladesh extends far beyond politically sensitive cases. According to the European Union Agency for Asylum, 2,554 prisoners were on death row in Bangladesh as of May 2024, including 2,468 men. These figures demonstrate the longstanding and extensive use of capital punishment within the country's criminal justice system, although they do not represent a verified total as of October 2026.
JMBF expresses particular concern over the prolonged psychological suffering of death-row prisoners, uncertainty surrounding appeals, and the devastating consequences for their families. The organisation emphasises that capital punishment disproportionately affects individuals who lack adequate financial resources, effective legal representation, or protection against discrimination and judicial errors.
JMBF's Urgent Demands
On this World Day Against the Death Penalty, JMBF calls upon the Government of Bangladesh to:Immediately establish an official moratorium on all executions and commute all existing death sentences.
Ensure independent and impartial judicial review of capital convictions, including the 22 death sentences associated with the July–August 2024 uprising.
Guarantee internationally recognised fair-trial standards, including judicial independence, effective legal representation, and meaningful remedies for defendants convicted in absentia.
End politically motivated prosecutions and selective justice, ensuring accountability through independent and impartial judicial proceedings.
Abolish capital punishment under all applicable legislation, including the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973, the Penal Code, and the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, and establish a time-bound roadmap towards its complete abolition.
JMBF also urges the United Nations, the European Union, the Government of France, and international human rights organisations to intensify their engagement with Bangladesh on the abolition of capital punishment, judicial independence, and the protection of the right to life.
The organisation recalls that Articles 6 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Bangladesh is a State Party, protect the right to life and guarantee fundamental fair-trial rights. These protections must apply equally to every individual, regardless of political affiliation or alleged offences.
On this World Day Against the Death Penalty, JMBF stands in solidarity with all individuals facing execution, their families, victims of miscarriages of justice, and abolitionist movements worldwide.
JMBF reiterates that justice must protect human life, not extinguish it. Accountability must never become an instrument of political revenge, and punishment must never override fundamental human rights.
In solidarity,
Advocate Shahanur Islam
Founder President
JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF)
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*************************************************** JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan international human rights organization registered in France under the French Association Law of 1901 (Registration No. W931027714), committed to defending human rights, promoting social justice, and empowering communities in Bangladesh and beyond. JMBF is officially registered in the European Union Transparency Register (REG No. 0635235105176-78).
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