HRW urges Bangladesh universities to uphold free speech, academic freedom

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday raised concerns over what it described as arbitrary punitive measures against academics and students at public universities in Bangladesh over their alleged political affiliations, saying the actions violate fundamental rights and undermine academic freedom.

Any action to punish persons for their peaceful beliefs or without ensuring due process would violate the rights to freedom of expression and association protected under international human rights law and reproduce abusive attempts under previous administrations to control political opinion and expression at Bangladesh’s public universities, it said.

“Bangladesh has a long history of political debate in its universities, and only autocrats should fear such discourse, not a government formed following student protests,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Bangladesh needs to turn the page on the repression of the past, not repeat it whenever the ruling and opposition parties trade places.”

The sanctions—dismissals, suspension, and teaching restrictions—focus on allegations that they were complicit in violence by Hasina’s Awami League government, which was toppled by student-led protests in 2024, allegations of other “subversive” activities in support of her party, or their alleged discrimination against students wearing Islamic clothing.

Hundreds of students, allegedly members and supporters of the Awami League, are also being expelled, depriving them of their right to education.

“Any acts of revenge against people who peacefully supported the previous government would show that freedoms of speech and assembly are not protected,” Ganguly said. “Universities should be places where people are free to express their views, not places where support is enforced for the government of the day.”

Human Rights Watch interviewed over a dozen affected teachers, examined university correspondence, and reviewed and analyzed a televised discussion and a video posted on social media. Interviews with teachers and students also confirmed expulsions, cancellation of exam certificates, or barring students from campus.

According to media reports in August 2026, at least 404 more academics at 22 universities, who were part of a pro-Awami League Telegram messaging app group, have been put under investigation, it said.

“What is happening now is that the university authorities are targeting with false allegations the group of teachers who are aligned to the Awami League and did not support the 2024 student movement,” said a professor at a public university, who is not identified for security reasons. “We are not allowed to go take classes, we cannot do research work, we cannot do anything.”

Hundreds of people were killed in a brutal police crackdown on the protests in July and August 2024, which forced Hasina to flee and paved the way for the return of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to power following an election in February 2026. The activities of the Awami League were criminalized by an interim government in May 2025.

For years, Bangladesh’s universities have been run in a partisan manner, employing and promoting academics close to the party in government and acting against supporters of other political parties, said HRW.

Starting in September 2024, the newly appointed authorities at Dhaka University, the country’s most prestigious university, ordered 44 academics to stop their work and restricted teaching assignments of another 25, without a transparent or credible disciplinary investigation. Subsequently, six of the academics were formally “temporarily suspended” following the findings of an inquiry committee, and similar investigations have now begun against another 14 teachers.

At Bangladesh Agricultural University in Mymensingh, the authorities dismissed, suspended, or removed 12 academics and demoted or restricted the activities of another 34 after setting up an “investigation commission,” though this did not appear to comply with the university’s legally established disciplinary process.

In Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in Dhaka, 12 academics have been temporarily suspended and another 10 removed from academic activities following an inquiry process that teachers said they were not allowed to attend, an apparent breach of the law covering academic discipline. Another 85 teachers were denied promotions.

In all, over 20 public universities have been affected, Human Rights Watch found.

In March 2025, Dhaka University temporarily suspended 126 students, and withheld their exam certificates, after a fact-finding committee said it had found photographic, video, or social media evidence that they had attacked peaceful protesters.

Cases filed with the police allege that another 277 Awami League students were involved. The university authorities have taken no formal action against them, but students and teachers confirmed that they stay away from campus for fear of arrest. Many of those named deny any role in the violence, yet the university has not provided a forum for them to answer the allegations.

Three academics, two of them in prison, were convicted by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal on crimes against humanity charges, with another awaiting trial.