Mizanur Rahman Mizan, a senior Jubo League leader from Basail Upazila in Tangail, has become the latest victim of custodial death under the Yunus regime. He was denied bail last week despite being critically ill.
A photo of him sleeping in a hospital bed with handcuffs has gone viral on social media.
The mainstream media remained mum with at least 29 Awami League leaders and activists, including Mizan, dying due to torture and lack of medical care in prisons since August last year.
Mizan died in Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) while undergoing treatment on Saturday afternoon. His body bore marks of torture.
He was a resident of Kashil Purbapara village in Basail Upazila and had been serving as the senior joint convener of the Upazila Jubo League for a long time.
About four months ago, Basail police arrested him from the Nakachim area of โโthe upazila. Later, he was shown arrested in a case at Tangail Sadar police station and sent to jail through the court.
While in prison, Mizan fell ill on September 17. He was first admitted to Tangail Medical College Hospital. When his condition worsened, he was transferred to the DMCH the next day.
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On September 29, his bail hearing was held at the Tangail Judge’s Court. At that time, citing Mizan’s serious illness, his lawyer submitted the necessary medical documents, but the court rejected the bail application.
His next bail hearing date was October 7.
Last week, freedom fighter and former minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, 74, died in a hospital under police custody. He was handcuffed even after death.
Moreover, family members said that doctors at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University refused to treat him four times, even though he had been suffering from dengue, among other complications.
The Yunus regime also created obstructions for people participating in his namaz-e-janaza in Narsingdi. Yet, thousands of people joined the funeral prayers to pray for the departed soul.
A week before his death, Abu Bakkar Siddique Munna (Munna Chairman), leader of the Awami League in Kanchipara Union of Phulchhari Upazila, Gaibandha, and former chairman of the Union Parishad, was killed inside the prisons.
Condemning the custodial deaths and extrajudicial killings, the Awami League said that the people of this country are witnessing how the illegal usurper, killer, fascist Yunus and his cohorts are murdering Awami League leaders and activists through various means. By filing false and harassing cases, they are unjustly detaining Awami League leaders and workers, leaders of the central 14-party alliance, and people from various professions for days on end.
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Although Bangladesh is bound by numerous domestic and international legal frameworks and institutional obligations, the period under the interim government has been marked by an upsurge in state-led repression, including extrajudicial killings by law enforcement and deaths in custody within both law enforcement agencies and the prison system, said the JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF).
The Prisons Act, 1894 and the Jail Code govern prison administration but are outdated and lack alignment with international human rights norms. Conditions inside prisons are absorbing, including overcrowding, medical neglect, and lack of oversight, and frequently contribute to preventable custodial deaths.
The 2013 Torture Act applies to prison officials, but enforcement remains sporadic and politically constrained, the JMBF said.
The international legal obligations and treaty obligations have also been ignored during the Yunus regime. Bangladesh is a party to:
โ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR): Articles 6, 7, and 10 are directly applicable to extrajudicial killings and custodial treatment.
โ Convention Against Torture (CAT): Ratified in 1998, obligating Bangladesh to criminalise and prevent torture and investigate all credible allegations.
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