The US congressional testimonies on hr abuse in Bangladesh are online now. There was a debate few days ago on whether the people who testified blasted the GOB for hr abuse as Daily Star claimed. Reading some of these, it seems pretty harsh to me. The best overall view was presented by Christine Fare of US Inst. of Peace.

This has been concomitant with the rise of political violence, perpetrated by thuggish groups operating as self-styled Islamist militias. At the same time, Bangladesh also has seen a rise in authoritarianism on the part of the ruling party. Opposition parties are branded “enemies of the state” and excluded from the state apparatus while the government increasingly relies on draconian methods to ensure law and order. Members and supporters of the opposition party have been the victims of these measures.