Have Extrajudicial Killings Really Ended Under Bangladesh’s Yunus Government?

It’s strange how quickly hope can turn into a question mark. When Sheikh Hasina was pushed out in August 2024 after that massive student-led uprising, people poured into the streets not just because a prime minister had fallen, but because an entire era of fear seemed to fall with her. For years, Bangladeshis lived with the dread of knock-on-the-door arrests, “crossfire” killings, and disappearances that felt like they had no end.

Then came the interim government—sworn in on August 8—led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. His arrival felt almost symbolic, like a moral reset button had finally been pressed. His team promised accountability, reforms, and openness. And, of course, an end to state violence. A year later, those promises are starting to fray.

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A Report That Reignites Old Worries

A new report by Odhikar—one of Bangladesh’s oldest human rights groups—is raising eyebrows and, frankly, blood pressure. Yes, the number of extrajudicial killings has dropped dramatically compared with the Hasina period. But the machine that allowed those abuses to thrive? It’s still there. Quiet. Intact. And still capable of swallowing people whole.

According to Odhikar, at least 40 people were killed extrajudicially between August 2024 and September 2025. This isn’t Hasina-level brutality, but it’s far from the break people hoped for.

Bangladesh is heading into the February parliamentary elections, and this issue is beginning to shape the national mood—again.

The Brutal Context of the Hasina Years

From 2009 to 2022, human rights groups documented 2,597 killings linked to security forces—through torture, custodial deaths, shootings of protesters, or the infamous “crossfire” label. Those abuses were a major catalyst for the uprising that toppled Hasina. People didn’t just want a new leader; they wanted to breathe again.

So when Yunus promised a “Bangladesh free from fear,” many believed him. And yet…

Under the Interim Government: Old Tactics in New Times

The Odhikar report details victims shot, tortured, and beaten in custody. Political activists, detainees picked up without warrants, people caught in security drives—the profiles haven’t changed much.

“There’s been a gradual increase, which is not what we expected,” said rights activist Nur Khan Liton. He’s part of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, formed by the Yunus administration itself. That commission was supposed to investigate the hundreds who vanished under Hasina.

But the problem is simple and disturbing:

The same security forces are still running the show.
Police.
RAB—that notorious paramilitary unit.

None has undergone real reform. None has external oversight. So the behaviors that flourished under Hasina didn’t magically disappear when the cabinet changed.

Real Stories, Real Bodies
Two recent cases stand out, and they read like déjà vu.

Case 1: Asif Shikdar

A BNP youth leader. Picked up in Dhaka. Accused of illegal arms possession—his family says the charge is fabricated. Hours later, he’s declared dead at a hospital. The death certificate? A cold, vague line: “unconscious on arrival.”

Case 2: Towhidul Islam

He’d gone home for his father’s funeral. Early morning, plainclothes officers took him from his village near Cumilla. Hours later, hospital workers say his body bore visible torture marks.
Public outrage forced the army to withdraw a camp commander. Seven individuals were disciplined. But “disciplinary action” rarely equals justice in Bangladesh.
Numbers That Don’t Lie

Odhikar’s report shows:

3 killings per month on average under the interim government
11 killings in the most recent quarter alone
19 shot dead in “crossfire,”
14 tortured to death,
7 beaten to death in custody.
In Bhola, Nazrul Islam was tortured after a theft allegation.
In Gazipur, garment worker Habibur Rahman was shot dead when police fired on a labor protest.
No officers have faced serious charges.

Despite signing the UN Convention Against Torture, Bangladesh still has no effective accountability mechanism for law enforcement. Paper commitments don’t change entrenched power structures.

Why Things Are Still Going Wrong

Odhikar’s director, Taskin Fahmina, made a cutting observation:

“These killings are worrying but not surprising. The security forces carry the legacy of the old system.” She did acknowledge something important: unlike under Hasina, they have not documented enforced disappearances during Yunus’s rule. That’s a relief compared with the horrors of the previous decade.

But she also points to signs of lingering state violence—like the July clashes in Gopalganj that killed five people.

Another problem:

The army has been on the streets since the uprising, partly because the police force practically collapsed during the chaos. A nationwide police strike left stations empty.
“The army isn’t trained for civilian law enforcement,” Fahmina warns. “Long deployment affects discipline.”
On November 5, the government ordered half the troops off the streets. It’s a start, not a solution.

The Larger Shadow: Hasina’s Long Era

During Hasina’s 15-year rule, impunity became structural. Security forces acted with political blessings, not consequences. Thousands were abducted or killed. Families disappeared into silence. Critics fled the country.

So, when Yunus took office, there was a sense that the nightmare might finally come to an end. His advisers promised:

security-sector reforms,
transparency,
prosecutions for past atrocities.
But moral authority isn’t the same as actual power.
The Commission on Enforced Disappearances has documented 1,752 cases under the Hasina administration.

And here’s the irony:

RAB is still functioning despite U.S. sanctions imposed in 2021 for extrajudicial killings.
International Pressure—And Stalled Reforms
The UN, in its February 2025 report, recommended something bold:
dissolve RAB,
dismantle the NTMC (the surveillance agency),
Limit DGFI to military intelligence only.
None of this has been implemented.
Meanwhile, the International Crimes Tribunal issued arrest warrants in October for 30 individuals, including Sheikh Hasina and 25 military officers. Fifteen have been denied bail; others remain missing.
Victims' families call this justice.
Rights activists call it uncertain.

Who Holds Power Now? Hard to Tell.

Police deny systematic abuse.
Yunus’s media office hasn’t responded to questions.
BNP leader Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury says only a fully elected government can restore accountability:
“Without political authority, institutions act on their own.”

But history complicates that hope. RAB, the most feared security force in the country, wasn’t created by Hasina—it was formed by a BNP-led government in 2004.

So the problem isn’t one leader but a system with a 20-year muscle memory.

What Comes Next?

Analysts say the real test will come when Bangladesh elects a new government next year.

Will it:

Confront the security forces?

No one knows. And that uncertainty—that uneasy pause between fear and hope—is where Bangladesh stands right now.

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