Bangladesh's Legal Crisis: How Yunus Government Targets Lawyers Amid Crackdown

According to the joint statement issued by the 15 human rights organisations and bar councils, lawyers are being systematically targetted solely for performing their professional duties and exercising their political beliefs in Bangladesh.

The statement cited the France-based human rights organisation, Justicemakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), which has documented 268 verified incidents of persecution affecting 849 lawyers between August 2024 and September 2025 under the Yunus regime.

As per the findings of JMBF, 200 incidents targeting 721 lawyers involved false charges of murder, attempted murder, sabotage, seditious conspiracy, extortion, and other crimes, used to criminalise and silence legal professionals.

“The evidence reveals a coordinated, politically motivated campaign orchestrated by the Interim Government, led by former Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus, and its allies, targeting lawyers for their political affiliations, professional responsibilities, and organizational engagements. This campaign has undermined the independence of the legal profession, obstructed justice, and threatened the rule of law,” read the joint statement.

“The repression has been overwhelmingly politically motivated, disproportionately affecting lawyers affiliated with the Bangladesh Awami League (BAL). JMBF documented 236 incidents involving 795 victims, representing 88 per cent of all incidents and 93 per cent of all victims nationwide. These figures demonstrate a deliberate effort to neutralise pro-BAL lawyers and obstruct justice,” it added.

Expressing concern, the organisations criticised these “politically motivated and systematically targetted” attacks on the lawyers. They called on the Yunus-led interim government to immediately end all forms of persecution against lawyers in Bangladesh and release all imprisoned lawyers and withdraw all charges unconditionally.

Additionally, the groups urged the interim government to ensure protection of lawyers from harassment, intimidation, and violence, guarantee justice for persecuted lawyers, prevent further persecution and create an enabling environment for lawyers to perform their duties without fear or interference in the country.

Furthermore, the organisations appealed to the international community, including bar associations and human rights organisations, notably the United Nations Human Rights Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission, to closely monitor the situation and provide support to lawyers under threat in Bangladesh.

- IANS