The years since 2009 witnessed tyrannical abuses of power through the monopolisation of political and governance spaces, which ultimately led to the eruption of the July 2024 uprising. FILE PHOTO: REUTERS
Every year, the International Anti-Corruption Day is observed on December 9, shortly followed by the International Human Rights Day. Rarely, however, do we realise that corruption and human rights violations are organically linked with each other, creating a vicious cycle of injustice as experienced by Bangladesh during the kleptocratic rule of 2009-2024. Corruption has been causing destructive effects on the state and society for a long time now, but it reached its peak during the Awami League regime that was ousted on August 5, 2024. In addition to economic, social and political costs, it also led to frequent violations of rights throughout this period.
In fact, the transformation of an elected government into an authoritarian regime was primarily an outcome of its design for the unaccountable abuse of power. Corruption was facilitated, promoted, protected, and granted impunity by deeply politicised and dysfunctional state institutions such as law enforcement and security agencies, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the judiciary, and the bureaucracy.
State power was captured through kleptocratic design, and in order to enable and sustain opportunities for abuse of power, various repressive measures were adopted and systems were created, leading to multidimensional, multilevel, and often ruthless violation of rights and deprivation of people's access to justice. As corruption—especially grand corruption—enjoyed impunity, the state soon turned into a kleptocracy, where high-level power was abused to allow a network of corrupt kingpins to capture policies, steal funds, plunder public resources, and launder money.
There have been myriad examples showing mutually reinforcing interlinkages between corruption, human rights violations, and injustice, with state institutions—particularly law enforcement agencies and the judiciary—often taking on the role of protectors and promoters of abuses rather than protectors of victims' rights. The July Uprising witnessed the peak of multidimensional violations of human rights, including the right to life, individual liberty, safety and security, as well as civil and political rights such as freedom of speech and assembly, media freedom, and the right to information. The UN Human Rights Office estimated the number of protest-related deaths during the movement at 1,400, among whom 12 to 13 percent were children, while the number of injured was 13,529, including 736 with serious eye injuries.
The years since 2009 have witnessed tyrannical abuses of power through the monopolisation of political and governance space and state institutions. Apart from the ruthless violation of civil and political rights, the criminalisation of dissent, media suppression, and even the denial of the right to life and personal liberty were used as tools to maintain control. Repressive laws were enacted and constitutional amendments were imposed for the same purpose. The abolition of the constitutional provision for the caretaker government system became the justification for depriving people of their right to vote and political parties of their right to meaningfully participate in three successive elections in 2014, 2018, and 2024.
Fifteen years of kleptocracy witnessed at least 4,356 instances of gross human rights violations, including 2,715 extrajudicial killings, 1,132 deaths in custody, and 689 enforced disappearances. Law enforcement, security, intelligence, and surveillance agencies became key pillars of the kleptocracy, acting as both perpetrators and enablers.
The network of secret detention and torture facilities operated by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) revealed brutal violations, including illegal detention, torture, extrajudicial killing, and enforced disappearance. The number of Aynaghors then operating across the country is estimated at between 700 and 800. There were hardly any crimes that the law enforcement agencies, like Rab were not involved in, ranging from contract killings, as in Narayanganj in 2014, to the elimination of political rivals to extortion, all abusing power and political linkages.
The UN report documents how agencies like Rab, BGB, DGFI, Detective Branch (DB), National Security Intelligence (NSI), and National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) were involved in extrajudicial killings and other violations of rights and freedoms. In addition to specialised detention and torture centres like Aynaghors and the Taskforce for Intelligence (TFI), offices of law enforcement and security agencies were also used for illegal detention, as demonstrated during the July Uprising, when seven leading protest coordinators were abducted by DB simply for exercising their right to dissent. False narratives were also weaponised to criminalise free speech and suppress dissent.
Free media and free expression were indiscriminately criminalised, as seen in the brutal murder of journalists Sagar and Runi, allegedly targeted because of their investigative reporting on corruption in the energy sector. In another case of protection and impunity for grand corruption and money laundering, a politically biased judiciary issued a directive to halt investigations against a top kleptocratic kingpin. It is also no secret that the DGFI enabled the forced takeover of a group of banks by companies that later plundered and laundered billions.
Extreme intolerance and suppression of dissent were evident throughout this authoritarian period, exemplified by numerous fabricated cases brought under draconian laws such as the Digital Security Act (DSA), 2018, the ICT Act, 2006, and the Special Powers Act, 1974. The Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act, 2016, was also used to restrict civic space, particularly to harass rights-based NGOs and create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. The Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provisions) Act, 2010, granted indemnity for systematic violations in procurement and contracting in the energy sector, effectively forfeiting citizens' right to legal remedy.
The triad of corruption, human rights violations, and injustice is an outcome of a political and governance ecosystem that has evolved since independence and reached its most entrenched form during the kleptocratic era. Escaping this triangle is easier to aspire to than to achieve, however. Transforming the governance ecosystem towards de-kleptification is a monumental challenge that demands a whole-of-state and whole-of-society approach.
Much will depend on whether the aspirations of the July National Charter for accountable governance are genuinely realised, particularly in key state institutions, including the judiciary and other rule-of-law institutions. Success will also depend on the fate of other important reform proposals left out of the July charter consensus process, and on whether neglected sectors like education, diversity, private sector, environment, and climate change are included in the transformation agenda. A key question remains about the implementation of the recommendations of the UN fact-finding report, especially regarding law enforcement, security, intelligence, and surveillance agencies.
Will the so-called "reform leaders" and power holders have the capacity to overcome resistance to change? Much will also depend on whether political parties can reform themselves as democratic institutions and develop the ability to manage their appetite for power transparently and accountably, without relying on money, muscle, or religion. The future will further depend on whether the bureaucracy, positioned at the core of the governance system, can develop the will and capacity to support—rather than resist—change.
So, can the forces that emerged as victors after the fall of the kleptocratic regime overcome the "it's our turn now" syndrome that has been clearly visible since August 5, 2024?
Dr Iftekharuzzaman is executive director at Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB). The article is based on the Barrister Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Memorial Lecture delivered by the author on December 8, 2025. Views expressed here are the author's own.
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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