Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has made a written appeal to UN special rapporteurs over the continuing ban on the activities of the Awami League in Bangladesh.
Expressing serious concern that the ban on her party remains in place, she called for urgent action.
The petition was submitted on Sheikh Hasina’s behalf by her lawyer Steven Powles KC (King’s Counsel). It says the administration of Bangladesh’s interim government first imposed the ban on the Awami League, and the BNP government led by Tareque Rahman then not only kept it but gave it formal shape.
The petition claims the Awami League was not allowed to take part in the election held in February 2026, despite significant public support in Bangladesh for its participation. As a result, it says, the election was not free, fair and inclusive, and it questions the legitimacy of the result.
It also says that holding elections and trying to consolidate democratic government while legally barring a major political party and its affiliates from taking part is constitutionally inconsistent, and that a large number of people are in effect being denied the chance to exercise their political rights.
The petition says it has also become difficult for the Awami League to challenge the ban in Bangladesh’s courts, claiming that the ban and continuing attacks on its supporters are obstructing the hiring of lawyers and the filing of legal complaints.
It says the ban violates several articles of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including Article 19 on freedom of expression, Article 21 on the right of peaceful assembly, Article 22 on freedom of association and Article 25 on political rights.
The petition further argues that the ban has no proper legal basis and, imposed by a government that came to power through a flawed election, serves no legitimate purpose. It describes the ban as part of continuing attacks on Awami League members and people linked to the party, and says it is disproportionate and lacks adequate safeguards against abuse.
The petition seeks the urgent intervention of three UN experts: the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order.
It asks them to take urgent action and to issue a public statement calling for free, fair and inclusive elections in Bangladesh.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report