Discard Cyber Security, Foreign Donations Act : Right bodies to govt
Authorities in Bangladesh must reject the proposed Cyber Security Act 2015 and the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act 2014, as they both violate international human rights standards on freedom of expression and association, said the Observatory and Odhikar.
Bangladesh authorities are aiming to tighten their control over free expression through the newly proposed Cyber Security Act 2015. This Act, which is currently awaiting approval by the Cabinet, widens the scope of crimes and imposes harsher sentences than the existing Information and 
UN Day for torture victims – urgent call for justice in BD
On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) and its member organization in Bangladesh, Odhikar, demand justice for victims of torture and extra judicial killings.
“Two years ago, Bangladesh passed the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act 2013; and committed itself to eradicating torture. Yet torture and impunity remain widespread in Bangladesh. No serious efforts have been made to give effect to the said Act or the UN 
Convention against Tortu...
Convention against Tortu...
Extrajudicial killing, disappearance on focus at US report
The United States has said extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, some restrictions on online speech and the press, poor working conditions and labour rights were the most significant human rights problems in Bangladesh last year.
While political affiliation was sometimes a factor in the arrest and prosecution of members of the opposition parties, the government did not prosecute individuals solely on political charges, the US said in a new report on human rights.
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Criminal justice processes incapable of ending torture
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has over the past 15 years documented close to 3,000 cases of torture from Asia. Most of these cases are reported through AHRC’s Urgent Appeals Programme by partner organisations working in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, China, Philippines, and Thailand, says a press release.
Having documented and closely followed each of these cases, and thereafter having used them to study the nuances of the legal processes, the AHRC is of the opinion that the criminal justice apparatus in these countries, the procedures followed by related institutions, and the promulgated legislations, are unfit to end torture.
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How migrants business flourish for decades in Bangladesh
Torture, rape, corruption, and ransom demands – the horror experienced by migrants has been allowed to flourish for decades, according to a source inside the Southeast Asian trafficking industry.
Each year thousands of Rohingya refugees flee from Myanmar to camps at Cox’s Bazar across the border in Bangladesh. Seeking to continue their journey to countries such as Malaysia, they are vulnerable to the gangs who organise boat travel.
“We have to pay the local police (in Bangladesh) before making any voyage,” said Munirol, a broker for 
UN creates Int’l Day against Sexual Violence in Conflict
In an effort to boost the global fight against the horrors faced by women and girls in zones of conflict worldwide, the United Nations General Assembly on June 19 approved by consensus a new resolution to commemorate 19 June as the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.
“Rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict constitute grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law,” President of the 193-member Assembly, Sam Kutesa, declared as he greeted the resolution’s adoption. “Yet these depraved acts still occur and are used to terrorise and control civilian populations in conflict zones.”
