Freedom House, a Washington-based NGO, said the harassment and persecution back home of family members of exiled government critics and journalists is a widespread tactic in transnational repression carried out by authoritarian governments across the globe.
Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League party is poised to clinch a fourth consecutive term in national polls set for Jan. 7, 2024.
Bangladesh’s Election Commission set the country on a familiar but gravely uncertain path last week when it announced Jan. 7 as the date for the 12th parliamentary elections.
Garment unions swiftly rejected a 56% hike to the minimum wage that Bangladesh’s government set on Tuesday after days of violent protests and factory shutdowns where striking workers demanded a near-tripling of their pay.
Street protests by Bangladeshi garment workers who want higher wages have turned violent while hundreds of factories have shut down, crippling the industry that is an engine of the country’s export economy.
A Bangladesh government circular asking Hindus to stop or limit the use of loudspeakers during daily Muslim prayers infringes on religious freedom, leaders of the minority group said as their community prepared to celebrate the Durga Puja festival.
Nearly two-thirds of Rohingya respondents have reported that moving around in Bangladesh refugee camps is more difficult than what they encountered in Myanmar, the country they were forced to flee, a youth advocacy group said in a study released Friday.
Merchants and customers in Dhaka and throughout the nation said prices are climbing for domestic onions, broiler chickens and potatoes by 10% to 25% as well.
Bangladesh’s draft Cyber Security Bill is nearly identical to the Digital Security Act it is meant to replace, with similar repressive provisions and harsh punishments that curb free speech, analysts said Thursday.
Bangladesh’s cabinet has approved a proposal to dilute the Digital Security Act, a minister said Monday about the law that critics worldwide have lambasted for its use to silence dissent, imprison critics and repress a free media.