Bangladesh: Awami League leaders illegally detained, denting credibility of new regime

Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina, one of the first “arrests” of top Awami League ministers was that of Zunaid Ahmed Palak, former state minister for Information, Communications, Technology.

In fact he was detained twice.

We first heard about him on August 6, the day after Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh, when he was stopped from leaving the airport. The media reported that Palak was “detained at Shahjalal International Airport during an attempted departure and that airport officials indicated he was handed over to a security force, though the details of the agency were not disclosed”.

Then there was silence.

Then a week later, on August 14, we read in press reports that he was arrested along with Shamsul Hoque Tuku, former deputy speaker of the national parliament, and was remanded the following day in connection with a murder case involving a killing during the student protests.

So where was he during that time?

Arifa Jesmin Konika, the wife of Palak, told me that during this period “he was in army custody”. Initially, this appeared to be some kind of “secret detention” – a form of human rights violation that this new government has promised to stop – but it turns out that it is not as straightforward as that. This is because...

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