Over the past two decades, extremist violence and autocratization have escalated in Bangladesh, increasingly threatening academic freedom. From 2009 to 2024, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League (AL) political party ruled Bangladesh under authoritarian conditions, widely suppressing student dissent and restricting freedom of speech across university campuses. In 2024, these tensions culminated in a nationwide student movement against the job quota system that forced Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and led to the formation of an interim government.

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In 2020, the AL government banned teachers at government colleges from posting online content deemed critical of the state, leading to arrests and firings. Dr. Kazi Zahidur Rahman, a computer engineering professor at Rajshahi University, was arrested and suspended for highlighting health sector corruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, professors Kazi Zakia Ferdousi and Shahadat Ullah Kayser were suspended for social media posts criticizing inadequate Personal Protective Equipment for healthcare workers.

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The decline of academic freedom has been further exacerbated by widespread physical violence targeting academics. In 2019, Abrar Fahad, a student at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, was murdered in his dormitory by members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the AL’s youth wing, for criticizing the government online. Collective student action and protests have also faced brutality. In February 2021, the police attacked students demanding 50 percent tuition waivers during COVID-19, arresting five. Days later, approximately 50 alleged transit workers attacked 25 Barisal University students in their residence hall, in retaliation for a protest against transit workers assaulting their classmates.

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The violent repression of student protesters intensified in July 2024 when students mobilized against reinstating a quota system reserving 30% government jobs for descendants of 1971 War of Independence freedom fighters. On July 16, police fired tear gas and attacked protestors at Begum Rokeya University. Abu Sayed, a 25-year-old student and protest coordinator, was shot 12 times while standing in defiance and his extrajudicial killing became a symbol for nationwide demonstrations demanding broader political change. Between July and August 2024, security forces and non-state militant groups systematically repressed protestors. Police and military, given shoot-on-sight orders, used live ammunition, rubber bullets, and stun grenades on student demonstrators and while implementing national curfews and internet blackouts. The BCL aided the government crackdown by attacking and shooting student protestors.

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The United Nations reported that up to 1,400 people were killed during the mass movement, with the vast majority shot by security forces - 12-13% were minors and many unarmed protestors were shot at point-blank range. By August, over 10,000 people were arrested, including student leaders such as Arif Sohel, Rony Sheikh, and Sabir Rahman. Despite these repressive measures, the protests continued and intensified.

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On August 5, 2024, facing a growing mass student uprising, Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India after 15 years as Prime Minister. An interim government was formed on August 8 with Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus as Chief Advisor, supported by student protest leaders, military officials, and civil society. The government includes activists, professors, former officials, and Dhaka University student leaders. It has since taken steps to restore some freedoms, establishing reform commissions, releasing detained protestors, and signing international human rights treaties. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for February 2026.

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However, the Academic Freedom Index’s 2025 update shows academic freedom in Bangladesh remains severely restricted, improving only slightly since 2023, with new threats emerging. Campus violence has continued since the political transition, with BCL members becoming targets of retributive attacks. On September 18, 2024, a group of Jahangirnagar University students beat BCL leader Shamim Ahmed to death in retaliation for his role in a July attack on protestors, while another BCL leader, Masud, was killed by a mob in Rajshahi. On October 23, the interim government banned BCL, declaring it a terrorist organization and effectively ending its political dominance on university campuses. Following the ban, police arrested more than 100 BCL student members, with many detained while appearing for exams on campus The AL estimates that 50,000 BCL members remain in hiding, unable to complete their education. Many of these students claim they joined BCL not out of ideological commitment but to avoid harassment on campus or secure access to dormitories that were illegally controlled by BCL.

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As BCL’s ban created a power vacuum, student groups including the Jatiyabadi Chatra Dal (student wing of the Bangladesh National Party), the Islami Chhatra Shibir (student wing of the recently unbanned Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami), and anti-discrimination movement members now compete for political control on campuses. Violent clashes between rival student groups have injured numerous students and disrupted academic activities, compromising campus safety. Concerns have also arisen over forced resignations of allegedly pro-AL university administrators and faculty without due process due to student pressure. 

Additionally, growing Islamist influence on government policy and education has led to changes in academic content deemed atheistic and attacks on scholars from minority groups. In October 2024, Islamic University, Kushtia students accused Assistant Professor Hafizul Islam of supporting homosexuality and protested against his alleged sexual orientation, burning his effigy and demanding his termination. Following an investigation, the university placed him on mandatory one-year leave in January 2025. On November 3, 2025, the interim government cancelled recruitment of music and physical education teachers for primary schools after religious groups opposed it as un-Islamic. In December 2025, a group calling itself “Tawhidee Muslim Janata” (faithful Muslim people) sent threatening letters to two Catholic colleges in Dhaka, accusing them of converting Muslim students.

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Endangered Scholars Worldwide (ESW) remains deeply concerned for scholars, students, and intellectuals in Bangladesh. While the AL’s fall removed one important obstacle, the persistence of violence and restrictions towards students and faculty during the interim government show that academic freedom remains under severe threat. We call upon the international community to demand the interim government ensure the safety of students and academics in all educational institutions, respect the institutional autonomy of universities and resist extremist pressure at Bangladeshi campuses. We urge the Bangladeshi government to protect scholars and students of all backgrounds, including religious and sexual minorities, from violence and discrimination. 

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(Last updated: January 12 , 2026)

Please send appeals to the following:

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Ambassador Tareq Md Ariful Islam
Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
3510 International Drive, NW
Washington, DC 20008
U.S.A.
Email: mission.washington@mofa.gov.bd
Website: https://washington.mofa.gov.bd/en

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Ambassador Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury
Permanent Representative of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh 
United Nations
820 2nd Ave 
4th floor
New York, NY 10017
Phone: (212) 867-3434
Email: bdpmny@gmail.com​​