In an interview with Al Jazeera’s Sreenivasan Jain, Dr. Muhammad Yunus’ spokesperson Shafiqul Alam has defended the ban on political activities of the Awami League by citing the party’s “lack of remorse” and even dismissed its supporters as a “bunch of thugs.”
The interviewer correctly pushed back, noting that banning an entire party is inherently undemocratic, that punishing hundreds of thousands for the alleged crimes of a few amounts to collective punishment, and that “remorse” is not a legal standard.
These justifications betray a troubling disregard for the rule of law principles.
Faulty Legal Basis
The ban rests on a deeply problematic amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act. The state now has the power to “temporarily suspend” organisations, without any defined time limits, creating a loophole for indefinite, arbitrary bans. This allows the government to effectively paralyse political parties without due process. Worse, the amendment criminalises almost all forms of expression or association linked to a suspended orgs, including social media activity. Journalists, academics, and citizens have already been arrested under this provision, chilling free speech and civic space.
Bangladesh’s Valley Of Death: 643 unclaimed bodies amid Yunus-led mobocracy
How Yunus regime is coercing all to back ‘Yes’ vote in unconstitutional referendum
RAB member killed in Sitakunda armed attack amid state-sponsored mobocracy
Collective Punishment And Flawed Logic
Banning the AL because some leaders allegedly committed crimes violates the foundational principle of individual criminal responsibility under int’l #humanrights and criminal law. Historically, collective sanctions entrench revenge politics rather than deliver accountability. The argument that political exclusion must precede legal accountability is also misguided. Global experience shows such bans deepen grievances, delegitimise transitions, and often fuel further instability.
Manufactured Public Pressure
The ban followed roughly 48 hours of what appeared to be state-facilitated protests led by the National Citizen Party (NCP) and its Islamist allies, the Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefazat-e-Islam. Government agencies were seen providing water and even cooling mist to protesters. This stands in stark contrast to the brutal crackdown on teachers protesting at the same location weeks earlier. Notably, the protest sites had officially been declared off-limits, and rules were enforced on everyone except these groups. This was not the government yielding to public pressure; it was the government manufacturing it.
Threat To Democratic Transition
Following the ban, the Election Commission cancelled AL’s registration, barring it from contesting the upcoming national election. Excluding a major political party from such a pivotal election jeopardises Bangladesh’s return to democratic governance. Around 30% of the electorate, long-time AL voters, now face effective disenfranchisement. Voting is meaningless when genuine choice is removed. An election without broad participation cannot reflect the true will of the people and risks entrenching an exclusionary political order.
By: Bangladesh Watch
Bengali 
English