It also noted that the general election in 2018, through which the present government came to power, was not considered free and fair by observers - reportedly due to various irregularities, including ballot-box stuffing and intimidation of opposition polling agents and voters.
The US report added that during the campaign leading to the last election, there were credible reports of harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and violence that made it difficult for many opposition candidates and their supporters to meet, hold rallies, or campaign freely.
Briefing a group of reporters on the report, an official of the US Embassy in Dhaka said although information was collected from different sources, its credibility was ensured through cross-checking.
The report dedicated 74 pages for Bangladesh to deal with a number of issues including: extrajudicial killings, forced disappearance, torture or cases of cruelty and inhumanity, serious problems with independence of the Judiciary, punishment of family members for offences allegedly committed by an individual, serious restrictions on free expression and media, and substantial interference with freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
There were numerous reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, the US report said.
"Law-enforcement raids occurred throughout the year, primarily to counter terrorist activities, drugs, and illegal firearms. Suspicious deaths occurred during some raids, arrests, and other law-enforcement operations. Security forces frequently denied their role in such deaths."
"The government usually described these deaths as 'crossfire killings', 'gunfights', or 'encounter killings'. Human rights organisations and media outlets claimed many of these crossfire incidents constituted extrajudicial killings."
"Human rights organisations claimed that in some cases the law-enforcement units detained, interrogated, and tortured suspects, brought them back to the scene of the original arrest, executed them, and ascribed the death to lawful self-defence in response to violent attacks."
The report very often refers to the data of human rights organisations like 'Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK)' and 'Odhikar' to back their observations.
About 'disappearance' it said, human rights groups and media reported continuation of disappearances and kidnappings, allegedly committed by security services.
"Between January and September 30, local human rights organisations reported that 18 persons were victims of enforced disappearances. The government made limited efforts to prevent, investigate, or punish such acts. Civil society organisations reported that the victims of enforced disappearance were mostly opposition leaders, activists, and dissidents."
"'Mayer Daak' (Mother's Call), an organisation of family members of the victims of enforced disappearances, reported that more than 500 individuals have gone missing in the country since 2009."
"According to multiple organisations, security forces reportedly used torture to gather information from alleged militants and members of political opposition parties. These forces reportedly used beatings with iron rods, kneecappings, electric shock, rape and other sexual abuses, and mock executions."
"According to international and local civil society entities, activists, and media, impunity was a pervasive problem in the security forces, including within but not limited to the RAB, BGB, Detective Branch (DB) of police, Bangladesh Police, and other units."
"Politicisation of crimes, corruption, and lack of independent accountability mechanisms were significant factors - contributing to impunity, including for custodial torture."
The US report noted that the constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, but the law permits the authorities concerned to arrest and detain an individual without an order from a magistrate or a warrant.
Arbitrary arrests occurred, often in conjunction with political demonstrations or speech, or as part of security forces' responses to terrorist activities, and the government held persons in detention without specific charges, sometimes to collect information regarding other suspects.
"The law provides for an independent Judiciary, but corruption and political interference compromised its independence. The government generally did not respect judicial independence and impartiality," the US report opined.
"Human rights observers maintained that magistrates, attorneys, and court officials demanded bribes from defendants in many cases, or courts ruled based on influence from or loyalty to political patronage networks."
"Observers claimed that judges, who made decisions - unfavourable to the government, risked transfer to other jurisdictions. Officials reportedly discouraged lawyers from representing defendants in certain cases."
About the conviction of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, the report said, "International and domestic legal experts commented on the lack of evidence to support the conviction, and suggested a political ploy to remove her from the electoral process. These experts stated that courts were generally slow in considering petitions for bail on her behalf."
"The constitution provides for freedom of expression including for members of the press and other media. But the government frequently contravened this right. There were significant limitations on freedom of expression - both online and offline. Members of media and bloggers self-censored their criticisms of the government due to harassment and fear of reprisal."
About the Digital Security Act (DSA), the US State Department report mentioned that throughout the year the government widely used the DSA against persons criticising the government, including questioning the government's handling of the pandemic.
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