Publications

This report addresses Bangladesh's compliance with its international human rights obligations with respect to the death penalty, prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, conditions of detention, and administration of justice and fair trial. 

Bangladesh has not abolished the death penalty or implemented a moratorium on executions, nor has it limited the application of the death penalty to the most serious crimes. The hundreds of people sentenced to death in Bangladesh every year - some in absentia - are subjected to poor conditions of detention, including solitary confinement in "condemned cells," in violation of the Nelson Mandela Rules. This solitary confinement continues from sentencing through a final appeal, which can take a decade or longer. 

This report examines the current state of the death penalty in Bangladesh and recommends Bangladesh (1)abolish the death penalty and ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In the meantime, this report recommends: (2) Bangladesh institute an official moratorium on executions, (3) limit the death penalty to the most serious crimes, as defined by international human rights standards, (4) bolster the judiciary by expanding judicial capacity and efficiency to oversee capital cases, (5) ensure timely access to competent counsel for all capital defendants, (6) take comprehensive steps to eliminate the use of torture and ensure that courts do not consider evidence obtained through torture, (7) prohibit solitary confinement for people sentenced to death, and (8) commute death sentences for all people who have been held in condemned cells, among other recommendations.