The Doughty Street Chambers has submitted a Request for Urgent Action on behalf of Sheikh Hasina, President of the Bangladesh Awami League and five-time Prime Minister, to the UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic International Order and other UN Special Rapporteurs regarding the unjustifiable ban on the partyโs activities.
Since Dr Muhammad Yunus assumed power on August 8, 2024, supporters of the Awami League, those associated with it, and minorities have been subjected to widespread attacks in Bangladesh, said the Appeal, filed by Steven Powles KC and Alex Tinsley from the Doughty Street Chambers.
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โSuch attacks have gone unpunished, and the Interim Administration has offered the perpetrators blanket immunity.โ
The Doughty Street Chambers said that while the interim administration has undertaken to hold elections in February 2026, it remains to be seen if this promise will be kept.
โIn the meantime, the Awami League remains a popular political force in Bangladesh.
โHowever, in May 2025, the Interim Administration banned the Awami League from participating in elections and has restricted all its activities until the conclusion of proceedings against Awami League leaders before the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal.โ
The Urgent Appeal sets out how the ban on the Awami League violates fundamental human rights and undermines the rule of law and democracy in Bangladesh.
The Appeal calls on the independent expert and other rapporteurs to urge the Interim Administration to hold free and fair elections as a matter of urgency, to lift the ban on the Awami League, and to allow the party to participate in any such elections when they are held.
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