The number of deaths in prison custody has remained alarmingly consistent even after the 2024 people’s uprising, mirroring the annual figures from before the mass movement that toppled the previous government. Families of the deceased allege that their loved ones died due to deliberate medical negligence, while authorities at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and the Prison Directorate insist there is no scope for such lapses.
Human rights organisations, terming custodial deaths a grave violation of human rights, have demanded thorough investigations into each incident.
Monowara Majlish, president of the women’s league in Dhaka North’s Ward 19, passed away on November 26 at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Long afflicted with kidney complications, she was brought from Kashimpur Women’s Prison for treatment but died while under care.
Her family claims proper medical attention was not provided, even after two days in the hospital. Monowara’s husband, Majlish Mia, stated: “Despite kidney issues, no treatment was administered at the hospital.”
Monowara is the fourth Awami League leader to have died in prison in November and the 35th since August last year, as part of the Jamaat-controlled interim administrationโs plan to destroy the party.
According to data from Ain o Salish Kendra, 112 individuals have died in custody over the 15 months since the uprising. This includes 95 deaths in the first 11 months of the current year alone, compared to 65 throughout 2024. Over the past five years, the total stands at 412.
Custodial Death: Awami League leader Tariq Rifat dies in jail hours after rearrest
Custodial Death: Two more victims expose Yunus regimeโs systematic extermination
Custodial Death: 31 Awami League leaders, activists killed in 14 months
Meanwhile, the Awami League said in October that at least 528 members and supporters have been brutally killed since the Jamaat-BNP terrorists unleashed mob violence in July 2024 to unseat the government and capture power.
The party has prepared a preliminary list to identify the victims. Date, place, cause of death, and personal information have been added to the list. Among them, 26 were killed in July 2024, 138 in August, 16 in September, 22 in October, 14 in November, 15 in December, nine in January, 11 in February, 17 in March, 13 in April, 11 in May, ten in June, 11 in July of 2025, four in August, four in September, and one till October 10.
Most prisoners who fall ill die while receiving treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Questions about the human rights of sick inmates resurfaced last September when viral Facebook images showed a former industry minister in handcuffs shortly before his death. Hospital authorities maintain that there is no opportunity for negligence in treating prisoners transferred from jails. They note that many non-division prisoners demand division-level facilities, and complaints arise when these are denied.
Dhaka Medical College Hospital Director Brigadier General Md. Asaduzzaman said: “Many claim the facilities entitled to division-status prisoners, which we cannot provide. They want to stay in the hospital unnecessarily, and their attendants insist on it. When we do not allow this, various allegations emerge.”
Prison authorities, however, highlight staffing and infrastructure shortages: out of 41 residential doctors, only two are currently on duty, and there are insufficient ICU facilities. This sometimes delays treatment for critically ill prisoners, though they assert no negligence occurs.
JMBF: 70 killed in 60 incidents of extrajudicial killings, custodial deaths
6 international human rights groups urge Yunus to bolster protections
Home Adviser stirs criticism by ordering mass arrest of Awami League members
Prison Inspector General Brigadier General Syed Md. Motahar Hossain explained, “In emergencies, we cannot immediately access hospital doctors, so patients must be sent to nearby facilities. This causes some issues and slightly increases death rates. We have been coordinating with the Health Ministry and the Directorate General of Health Services for years. Any proven negligence results in punishment for those responsible.”
Human rights group Nagarik Udyog stated that custodial deaths were concerning even before the 2024 uprising, and the situation has not improved afterwards. Chief Executive Zakir Hossain remarked: “The core spirit of the uprising is being completely violated. We took to the streets against the previous government’s human rights abuses and corruption, but no change is evident under the new administration.”
Relevant parties also emphasised the need for regular visits by human rights organisations to prisons to ensure prisoners’ rights are upheld.
Since Sheikh Hasinaโs August 5, 2024, ouster and the Yunus interim governmentโs formation, custodial deaths have surged, targeting Awami League figures in what rights groups call a โsystematic exterminationโ campaign. Awami League documentation lists 31 leaders and activists dead in judicial custody as of October 10, 2025, including former Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun (Dhaka Central Jail) and clusters in Bogra (four in one month), Tangail, Sylhet, Khulna, and Chittagong.
Amnesty demands release of journalist Anis Alamgir, end to suppression
Delhi on edge as anti-India protests rock Dhaka, threaten northeast security
Liberation War heroes languish in jail due to political vendetta and Pakistanization
The Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) reports at least 21 Awami League custodial killings from August 2024 to April 2025, part of 123 targeted murders (41 โTaliban-styleโ hackings).
Odhikarโs data shows 40 extrajudicial killings overall from August 2024 to September 2025 (three per month on average, rising to 11 in July-September 2025), with 14 from torture and seven from beatings in custody. While some victims span parties (e.g., BNPโs Asif Shikdar and Towhidul Islam), Awami League affiliates dominate, often rearrested on old charges post-bail, denied meds, and declared โnatural deaths.โ
Human Rights Watch and MSF highlight an โalarming rise,โ with 70 extrajudicial/custodial deaths in 60 incidents by mid-2025, urging probes. The EUAAโs August 2025 Country of Origin report notes impunity persists, with RAB and police unreformed despite UN calls. Six international rights groups have pressed Yunus for protection, but arrests of ~500,000 Awami League members continue, fueling lynchings and pogroms.
This โbloodbathโ buries Hasinaโs secular legacy, with no accountabilityโechoing Hasina-era abuses but inverted against her party. As Rifatโs family awaits autopsy results, calls grow for UN intervention: โFrom red-alert militancy to political gravesโBangladeshโs prisons are now killing fields.โ
English 
Bengali