Bangladesh: Political Transition, Restrictions on the Awami League and Protection Risks for Religious Minorities

Full Update

1. Introduction and Scope

This update reviews developments in Bangladesh from the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024 to the formation of an elected government in February 2026. It focuses on three areas that recur in protection assessments: developments concerning political actors, risks linked to actual or imputed political opinion and affiliation, and the situation of religious minorities. Political opinion and religion are both Convention grounds under the 1951 Refugee Convention.¹

The update is a summary of publicly available information for researchers, practitioners and decision-makers. It is not a substitute for individual assessment, and it should be read alongside the primary sources cited.

2. Developments Concerning Political Actors

2.1 The 2024 Transition

After weeks of student-led protests that began over public-sector job quotas, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left Bangladesh for India on 5 August 2024. An interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus took office on 8 August 2024. A UN human rights fact-finding mission later estimated that as many as 1,400 people may have been killed between 15 July and 15 August 2024, and found reasonable grounds to believe that serious violations had been committed by the former government, its security and intelligence services, and violent elements associated with the ruling party.²

2.2 Accountability Proceedings

The International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICT-BD), established under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973, was reconstituted to try alleged crimes against humanity committed during the July–August 2024 crackdown. On 17 November 2025 the Tribunal convicted Sheikh Hasina in absentia and sentenced her to death, alongside her former Home Minister. Ms Hasina rejected the proceedings as politically motivated.³

While accountability for the 2024 killings is widely supported, international human rights actors have raised concerns about trials in absentia and the imposition of the death penalty. These concerns are relevant when assessing whether persons facing related charges would receive a fair trial.⁴

2.3 Restrictions on the Awami League

In October 2024 the interim government proscribed the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the Awami League’s student wing, under the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009. In May 2025 it amended the same Act to ban all activities of the Awami League itself, including online activity, pending the conclusion of trials against the party and its leaders. The Election Commission then suspended the party’s registration, excluding it from the next general election.⁵

A blanket prohibition of a major political party engages the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and the right to take part in public affairs. Any such restriction must be provided by law, pursue a legitimate aim and be necessary and proportionate.⁶

2.4 The February 2026 Election

The 13th parliamentary election was held on 12 February 2026, together with a referendum on the July National Charter. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a two-thirds majority, with 209 seats, and Jamaat-e-Islami won 68. BNP chairman Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Prime Minister on 17 February 2026. International observers described the vote as largely peaceful.⁷

3. Political Opinion and Affiliation

The change of government has changed, rather than removed, the profile of people at risk on political grounds. Since August 2024 there have been reports of mob violence and attacks on property against persons associated with the Awami League and its affiliated organisations. Large numbers of criminal cases have also been filed, some naming many accused, against former officials, activists, supporters and others perceived to be connected with the former government.⁸

Actual membership is not required: political opinion may be imputed to a person because of family ties, employment in the former administration, or public statements. In an individual case the following factors are likely to be relevant:

• the person’s role and seniority in the Awami League or an affiliated organisation, and how visible that role was locally;
• whether the person is named in a first information report, charge sheet or arrest warrant, and the nature of the allegation;
• online activity, given the ban on the party’s digital activities;
• the local political situation, including the presence of rival party activists; and
• whether effective state protection or internal relocation is realistically available to that person.

4. Religious Minorities

Islam is the state religion, but the Constitution guarantees equal status and equal rights to other religions and protects freedom of religion. Hindus are the largest religious minority, at about 8 percent of the population according to the 2022 census, followed by smaller Buddhist and Christian communities.⁹

In the days after 5 August 2024, attacks on the homes, businesses and places of worship of Hindu families were reported in several districts. Some incidents appear to have been driven by perceived Awami League affiliation as well as by religion, and the interim government described many of them as political. The arrest of the Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das on sedition charges in November 2024 led to protests and clashes in Chattogram, during which a lawyer was killed.

Protection assessments should therefore consider whether religion and imputed political opinion overlap in the individual case. They should also consider the location, previous targeting, the response of local police, and whether perpetrators have been investigated and prosecuted.

5. Outlook and Monitoring Priorities

The Country Rapporteur will continue to monitor:

• whether the elected government keeps, reviews or lifts the restrictions on the Awami League;
• the progress and fairness of ICT-BD proceedings, including further trials in absentia;
• the implementation of reforms agreed under the July National Charter; and
• the investigation and prosecution of attacks on religious minorities and their places of worship.

This update reflects publicly available information up to the end of the reporting period.

Footnotes

1. Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (adopted 28 July 1951, entered into force 22 April 1954) 189 UNTS 137, art 1A(2). ↩︎
2. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Violations and Abuses related to the Protests of July and August 2024 in Bangladesh (Report of the Fact-Finding Mission, 12 February 2025). ↩︎
3. International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 (Act No XIX of 1973), as amended. ↩︎
4. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (adopted 16 December 1966, entered into force 23 March 1976) 999 UNTS 171 (ICCPR), arts 6 and 14. ↩︎
5. Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 (Act No XVI of 2009), as amended by the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance 2025. ↩︎
6. ICCPR (n 4) arts 19, 21, 22 and 25. ↩︎
7. Bangladesh Election Commission, results of the election to the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (February 2026). ↩︎
8. OHCHR (n 2). ↩︎
9. Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, arts 2A, 28 and 41; Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Population and Housing Census 2022. ↩︎