Amnesty voices concern over 3 laws in letter to Law Minister

Amnesty International has raised concerns over three recently proposed and enacted laws in a letter to Bangladesh’s law, justice and parliamentary affairs minister.

The three laws are the Cyber Security (Amendment) Act 2026, the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Act 2026 and the Special Response Battalion (SRB) Act 2026.

In a letter sent on 26 October, Amnesty called for the laws to be brought into line with international human rights law. The letter followed a meeting between the organisation’s secretary general and the minister on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Amnesty International has expressed serious concerns over the proposed Cyber Security (Amendment) Act. According to the organisation, the previous Information and Communication Technology Act 2006, Digital Security Act 2018 and Cyber Security Act 2023 were used to curtail human rights, including freedom of expression. The new amendments risk perpetuating human rights violations rather than addressing these problems.

Section 8(2) of the proposed law expands the number of agencies authorised to remove information or block its publication online. It allows information to be removed or blocked if it could disrupt national security or public order, spread religious or communal hatred, provide instructions for disorder or criminal activities, defame an individual or organisation, or express “disrespect” towards the state.

According to Amnesty, these grounds are vaguely defined and overly broad. This could allow authorities to arbitrarily interfere with freedom of expression by invoking them. The amendments also propose removing the requirement to obtain tribunal approval within three days of removing or blocking information.

The amendments propose expanding the scope of offences related to defamation, insult, harassment, misinformation and the spread of rumours. Given the vague and broad definitions, Amnesty fears the law could be used to harass or silence journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents and government critics.

The proposed provisions allow for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of Tk 4 million. The organisation has called for the amendments to be withdrawn.

Amnesty has welcomed the enactment of the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Act 2026. However, the organisation says the law is not fully consistent with the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Amnesty has recommended revising the law’s definition of a victim of enforced disappearance. The organisation said the law should not require the same government official to be responsible both for detaining a person and subsequently denying the detention or concealing the person’s whereabouts. It also called for the removal of a provision allowing the authorities to withhold information about an arrest on national security grounds if the person is produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.

Amnesty has opposed the provision for the death penalty under Section 6 of the law and called for a moratorium on executions and the full abolition of capital punishment.

Section 18 allows trials to be held in the absence of the accused. According to Amnesty, such trials could undermine fairness except in certain circumstances. Meanwhile, Section 21 provides for compensation or a maximum prison sentence of five years for filing “false and malicious” allegations of enforced disappearance. The organisation fears this provision could discourage families of victims from reporting such cases.

Amnesty has expressed concern over the Special Response Battalion (SRB) Act, saying that although the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has been renamed, its personnel, powers and resources have been transferred to the new unit.

Amnesty International cited credible allegations of serious human rights violations by RAB, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture. The organisation identified the transfer of personnel from the former force to the new unit without vetting their involvement in human rights violations as a major shortcoming.