London [UK], November 4 (ANI): Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised concerns over alleged political targeting of academics and students at public universities in Bangladesh over their purported links to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party, warning that dismissals, suspensions and restrictions imposed without due process could violate fundamental human rights.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the international rights organisation said scores of university teachers and students had faced arbitrary disciplinary action over alleged support for Hasina’s former government, which was toppled following student-led protests in 2024.
HRW said such measures, if imposed for peaceful political beliefs or without ensuring due process, would violate internationally protected rights to freedom of expression and association.
“Bangladesh has a long history of political debate in its universities, and only autocrats should fear such discourse, not a government formed following student protests,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch.
“Bangladesh needs to turn the page on the repression of the past, not repeat it whenever the ruling and opposition parties trade places,” she added.
According to HRW, the disciplinary measures include dismissals, suspensions, restrictions on teaching responsibilities and other academic activities. The allegations against the affected academics range from complicity in violence during Hasina’s tenure and involvement in activities supporting the Awami League to alleged discrimination against students wearing Islamic clothing.
The organisation also flagged the expulsion of hundreds of students allegedly affiliated with the Awami League, saying the measures had affected their right to education.
HRW said it interviewed more than a dozen affected teachers, examined university correspondence and reviewed a televised discussion and social media footage as part of its investigation. Interviews with teachers and students also confirmed cases involving expulsions, cancellation of examination certificates and restrictions on access to university campuses.
Citing media reports from August 2026, the organisation said at least 404 additional academics across 22 universities had been placed under investigation for their participation in a Telegram messaging group associated with the Awami League.
A professor at a public university, whose identity was withheld for security reasons, told HRW that university authorities were targeting teachers allegedly aligned with the Awami League who had not supported the 2024 student movement.
“What is happening now is that the university authorities are targeting with false allegations the group of teachers who are aligned to the Awami League and did not support the 2024 student movement,” the professor said.
“We are not allowed to go take classes, we cannot do research work, we cannot do anything,” the professor added.
The report highlighted disciplinary actions at several major public universities, including Dhaka University, Bangladesh Agricultural University and Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University.
At Dhaka University, authorities reportedly ordered 44 academics to stop working and restricted the teaching assignments of another 25 from September 2024, without what HRW described as a transparent or credible disciplinary investigation. Six academics were subsequently temporarily suspended, while investigations were initiated against another 14 teachers.
At Bangladesh Agricultural University in Mymensingh, 12 academics were reportedly dismissed, suspended or removed from their positions, while another 34 faced demotions or restrictions on their activities following an investigation process that HRW said appeared inconsistent with the university’s legally established disciplinary procedures.
Similarly, at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in Dhaka, 12 academics were temporarily suspended and another 10 removed from academic activities. Another 85 teachers were reportedly denied promotions.
HRW said more than 20 public universities had been affected by such measures.
The organisation also raised concerns over action against students. In March 2025, Dhaka University temporarily suspended 126 students and withheld their examination certificates after a fact-finding committee reportedly identified photographic, video or social media evidence suggesting their involvement in attacks on peaceful protesters.
Police complaints also named another 277 students allegedly affiliated with the Awami League. However, HRW said the university had not taken formal disciplinary action against them, while students and teachers confirmed that some were staying away from campus over fears of arrest.
The report also detailed the case of Professor Mashiur Rahman of Dhaka University’s sociology department, who was instructed to stop academic and administrative work on September 25, 2024.
Among the allegations against him was that he had opposed the 2024 protest movement during a television discussion. However, HRW said a video of the broadcast reviewed by the organisation did not show him making the alleged remarks.
He was also accused of inciting genocide during a meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence on August 3, 2024. Rahman told HRW that the meeting had been organised by the University Grants Commission and attended by vice-chancellors, and denied making the alleged statement.
On August 31, 2026, university authorities recommended his permanent suspension, a decision he is appealing, according to HRW.
The organisation also cited cases involving academics at Bangladesh Agricultural University, including Professor Purba Islam and Professor Yahia Khandoker, who were suspended over alleged support for Hasina during a pro-Awami League procession on August 4, 2024.
HRW’s review of footage of the procession found people walking across the university campus while chanting slogans, with no direct confrontations visible. The organisation said the footage did not establish the allegations of slogan-shouting against Professor Islam.
Khandoker, meanwhile, maintained that he was with his family in Dhaka throughout the protest period and was not present at the university. The High Court stayed his suspension, although the Attorney General’s Office is appealing the decision.
The developments come against the backdrop of the political upheaval in Bangladesh in 2024, when hundreds of people were killed during a police crackdown on student-led protests in July and August, forcing Hasina to leave the country.
The Awami League’s activities were subsequently criminalised by the interim government in May 2025. Following the February 2026 election, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party returned to power.
HRW also noted that three academics, including two who are in prison, had been convicted by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal on crimes against humanity charges, while another was awaiting trial.
Highlighting the importance of protecting academic freedom, Ganguly warned against using universities as instruments of political retaliation.
“Any acts of revenge against people who peacefully supported the previous government would show that freedoms of speech and assembly are not protected,” she said.
“Universities should be places where people are free to express their views, not places where support is enforced for the government of the day,” Ganguly added. (ANI)
