Many people languishing in jail due to political identity: Rehman Sobhan

Economist professor Rehman Sobhan has said that a large number of people in the country are currently languishing in prison because of their political identity.

Describing this as a violation of human rights, a failure of the country’s justice system and one of the major shortcomings of the interim government, he said, they should have been more committed to upholding the rule of law.

The economist made these remarks at a dialogue titled ‘National Human Rights Commission Ordinance, 2025: Expectations from the New Parliament’.

The event was held at the Bangladesh–China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital on Wednesday afternoon. The dialogue was organised by the Citizens’ Platform for SDG Implementation.

Speaking in the presence of Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at the programme, Rehman Sobhan expressed hope that the situation would improve.

He said that restoring the human rights of those who are unlawfully in custody and re-establishing the effectiveness of the rule of law would serve as a “litmus test” for Salahuddin Ahmed in his role as home minister.

Rehman Sobhan, chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said that history unfortunately shows that previous governments had violated the rights of their political opponents.

When those same opposition groups later came to power, he added, they often spent their time violating the human rights of their opponents instead of taking action according to the law.

Raising the question of what the real challenge would be for members of parliament, Rehman Sobhan said, “Those who present themselves as advocates of human rights—how far will they ensure that the rule of law is upheld in the country? Will we truly have an independent judiciary, and will it not be used as an instrument to violate human rights rather than to protect them?”

Expressing hope that the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance would be passed, Professor Rehman Sobhan stated, “How effectively the commission would function would largely depend on whether Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, like his predecessors, chose to ignore it.”