Authorities in Bangladesh must end impunity for torture and other ill-treatment by police and security forces, hold perpetrators to account and ensure reparations are given to victims, Amnesty International said on International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Despite ratifying the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) in 1998 and enacting the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act 2013, there has only been one conviction under the torture law in more than a decade as impunity continues to prevail for police and security forces in Bangladesh.

In a recent alleged case of drug possession, on 2 June 2024, 40-year-old Afroza Begum died in police custody following her arrest in Abhaynagar sub-district. Her elder son, Arif Hossain Munna, told Amnesty International that he witnessed two police officers planting drugs on her and beating her before taking her to Abhaynagar police station. She died the next morning while in police custody. 

It’s a damning indictment of the entrenched impunity that this law has only seen one solitary conviction despite mounting reports of custodial deaths over the last ten years.

“Torture and other ill-treatment are abhorrent and never justified. Bangladesh’s authorities must ensure that allegations of widespread and persistent torture and other ill-treatment at the hands of law enforcement officers are thoroughly, impartially and independently investigated, and suspected officers are brought to justice through fair trials. Those suspected of causing harm must be suspended from their positions, pending the completion of investigations, so they cannot commit further violations,” said Taqbir Huda, Amnesty International’s Regional Researcher for South Asia.

“It’s a damning indictment of the entrenched impunity that this law has only seen one solitary conviction despite mounting reports of custodial deaths over the last ten years. Afroza Begum’s death is one in an appallingly long and ever-growing list of those allegedly tortured and killed in custody.”

In September 2023, the Bangladesh government reported to the UN Human Rights Council that 24 cases had been filed under the 2013 torture law so far.

Custodial deaths continue to be reported in Bangladesh’s media with alarming frequency. Between January 2013 and May 2024, rights group Ain o Salish Kendra has documented 138 deaths which were allegedly caused due to physical torture by law enforcement agencies. It also documented 923 deaths in jail custody which were reported in the media in the same time period.