Bangladesh political violence kills 281 since Hasina’s fall
A Dhaka-based human rights group said many people had fallen victim to extortion by political parties regardless of their financial or social standing
Nearly 300 people have been killed in political violence in Bangladesh in the year since student-led protests toppled autocratic former leader Sheikh Hasina, the country’s main human rights group said on Sunday.
A report by Odhikar, a Dhaka-based rights organisation, said at least 281 people had been killed in violence involving political parties from August 2024 – when Hasina’s rule ended and she fled to India – to September 2025.
On top of those, there were another 40 victims of extrajudicial killings who had been suspected of crimes, while another 153 were lynched, the quarterly report released last week said.
Odhikar director ASM Nasiruddin Elan said adherence to human rights had improved since the fall of Hasina’s government, but law enforcement agencies were still not being held accountable.
“Yes, we don’t see the frequent extrajudicial killings or enforced disappearances that we witnessed during the Hasina era, but deaths in custody, bribery and harassment of victims are still ongoing,” Elan said.
He said that “innocent people fall prey to atrocities” for their alleged involvement with the Awami League, Hasina’s political party that is now banned.
