Security forces in Bangladesh getting widespread impunity: US

Security forces in Bangladesh are getting widespread impunity even though there are reports that they are involved with different types of crimes, including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance, said an annual report of the US State Department.

“The security forces encompassing the national police, border guards, and counterterrorism units such as the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), maintain internal and border security,” the report said.

"There were reports of widespread impunity for security force abuses and corruption. The government took few measures to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption and abuse and killing by security forces," it added.

These were said in the ‘2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices’ report published on Tuesday by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the US Department of State.

Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings; forced disappearance; torture or cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or its agents on behalf of the government; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrests or detentions; political prisoners; politically motivated reprisals against individuals in another country; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; punishment of family members for offenses allegedly committed by an individual; serious restrictions on free expression and media, including violence or threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, and censorship and the existence of criminal libel and slander laws; serious restrictions on internet freedom; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including overly restrictive laws on the organization, funding, or operation of nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations; restrictions on refugees’ freedom of movement; mistreatment of refugees; serious and unreasonable restrictions on political participation; serious government corruption and government restrictions on or harassment of domestic human rights organizations.