International rights organisation Amnesty International said on Tuesday that Bangladesh’s interim government unnecessarily restricted freedom of expression, association and assembly, as individuals, including human rights defenders, were subjected to arbitrary arrests and harassment for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

‘The interim government’s ban on the Awami League political party brought into question their commitment to upholding freedom of association. The Cyber Security Act of 2023 continued to be used until it was replaced by the Cyber Security Ordinance in 2025,’ according to the organisation’s annual report titled ‘The State of The World’s Human Rights’ April 2026, published on its website on Tuesday.

In May 2025, the interim government banned all activities of the Awami League, using an amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act, pending trials of its leaders linked to the deaths of protesters in 2024. Subsequently, the Election Commission also suspended the party’s registration.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death after convicting them, in their absence, of crimes against humanity for their roles in the use of unlawful force against protesters in 2024.

Amnesty said that proposed reforms aimed at protecting women’s rights faced pushback from Islamist groups.

In December 2025, journalist Anis Alamgir was arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act following a complaint alleging that he and four others had used their social media accounts and other media platforms to support the Awami League, the report said.

At least 59 members of the Indigenous Bawm community remained in detention on baseless terrorism charges, the rights organisation said.

‘Negotiations continued between the interim government and labour rights and trade union leaders over the urgent need to reform labour laws and improve wages and working conditions. Workers protested against low wages, harassment and anti-union repression. The climate crisis entrenched gender and caste-based inequalities,’ the report said.

The interim government, led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, assumed office on August 8, 2024, after the student-led July 2024 mass uprising forced the ouster of the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024.

On February 17 this year, a Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government took office after securing a two-thirds majority in the 13th parliamentary elections held on February 12.