In an unprecedented and deeply alarming move, the interim government of Bangladesh, led by former Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, has launched a systemic campaign aimed directly at the country’s legal community. According to documentation from JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), since assuming power in August 2024, the Yunus administration has orchestrated an alarming series of politically motivated arrests, fabricated charges, killings, forcible possession of the Bangladesh Bar Council and other district bar associations, and physical attacks targeting lawyers.
Over 391 legal professionals are now facing false accusations such as murder and explosive explosions. More than 131 have already been arrested, some detained without charges solely for their professional activities and political beliefs, while many more have been subjected to abuse, threats, and harassment. What we are witnessing is not a series of isolated incidents, but a deliberate, orchestrated attack on the rule of law and the very independence of Bangladesh's judiciary.
Dans une initiative sans précédent et profondément alarmante, le gouvernement intérimaire du Bangladesh, dirigé par l’ancien lauréat du prix Nobel de la paix, le Professeur Muhammad Yunus, a lancé une campagne systémique visant directement la communauté juridique du pays. Selon les documents de JusticeMakers Bangladesh en France (JMBF), depuis son arrivée au pouvoir en août 2024, l’administration Yunus a orchestré une série inquiétante d’arrestations politiquement motivées, de charges fabriquées, de meurtres, de prises de contrôle forcées du Barreau du Bangladesh et d’autres associations de barreaux de districts, ainsi que d’attaques physiques ciblant les avocats.
Plus de 391 professionnels du droit font actuellement face à de fausses accusations telles que des meurtres et des explosions d’explosifs. Plus de 131 ont déjà été arrêtés, certains détenus sans aucune inculpation, uniquement pour leurs activités professionnelles et leurs opinions politiques, tandis que beaucoup d’autres ont été victimes d’abus, de menaces et de harcèlement. Ce à quoi nous assistons n’est pas une série d’incidents isolés, mais une attaque délibérée et orchestrée contre l’état de droit et l’indépendance même du système judiciaire du Bangladesh.
Meghna Alam, also crowned Miss Earth Bangladesh 2020, was detained from her residence in Dhaka on April 9, 2025, and transferred to Kashimpur Jail following a closed-door court hearing on April 10. Her 30-day preventive detention was ordered under the Special Powers Act, based on vague allegations that she was spreading misinformation and threatening diplomatic relations.
Paris, France; April 12, 2025 — France-based human rights organization, JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), expresses grave concern and unequivocal condemnation over the blatant obstruction of democratic rights witnessed in the 2025 Chattogram District Bar Association election. On April 10, lawyers aligned with the Awami League and other left-leaning parties were deliberately barred from collecting nomination forms by a group of BNP-Jamaat affiliated lawyers, effectively disenfranchising all opposition candidates. The resulting uncontested election of BNP-Jamaat candidates for all 21 posts stands as a clear violation of constitutional, legal, and human rights standards.
JMBF asserts that these actions represent a direct attack on her personal dignity, safety, and most alarmingly, her independence as a legal professional engaged in upholding justice for the victims of the 1971 Liberation War.
This heinous act, committed in public under the watch of the current interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, reflects a grave deterioration of law and order and exposes the abysmal state of protection for legal professionals in Bangladesh today.
JMBF asserts that this politically motivated and arbitrary action—under the watch of the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus—constitutes a flagrant violation of the Constitution of Bangladesh, as well as fundamental international human rights obligations to which Bangladesh is legally bound.
