Amnesty International has raised concerns over three recently proposed and enacted laws in a letter to Bangladesh’s law, justice and parliamentary affairs minister.
In the letter, dated October 26 and published on its website on Thursday, the international human rights organisation raised concerns over the proposed Cyber Protection (Amendment) Act, 2026, the Prevention and Remedy of Enforced Disappearance Act, 2026, and the Special Response Battalion Act, 2026.
Signed by Amnesty International South Asia Regional Director Smriti Singh, the letter followed a meeting between the minister and Amnesty secretary general Agnes Callamard during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Amnesty said vague provisions in the proposed cyber law could be used to restrict freedom of expression and harass journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents and other government critics.
It expressed concern over expanded powers to remove or block online content, including information deemed to threaten national security or public order, as well as provisions covering ‘disrespect to the state’ and false or harmful information.
The organisation also criticised the removal of a requirement for tribunal approval within three days for continued content blocking, warning that the changes would weaken safeguards against arbitrary restrictions.
Amnesty welcomed the passage of the enforced disappearance law but said several provisions fell short of international standards.
It opposed allowing information about a person’s arrest, location or condition to be withheld on national security grounds and called for the removal of the death penalty.
It also urged changes to provisions on command responsibility, investigation and trial deadlines, and the criminalisation of false or vexatious disappearance reports, warning that the latter could discourage families from reporting cases.
The organisation called for investigations into alleged disappearances to be conducted by bodies that are institutionally and operationally independent of potentially implicated agencies.
On the Special Response Battalion Act, Amnesty said the law effectively transfers the personnel, powers and property of the Rapid Action Battalion to the newly named force without independent human rights vetting of its personnel.
It cited credible allegations of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and unlawful use of force by RAB, as well as sanctions imposed by the United States on the force and seven of its leaders in December 2021.
Amnesty said the SRB’s powers of entry, search, seizure, arrest and investigation raised concerns given RAB’s record and the lack of accountability for alleged violations.
It also questioned the independence of the grievance redress committee, which includes senior SRB officials and government nominees.
The organisation urged the government to ensure independent investigations into alleged violations and amend the SRB law to bring it into line with Bangladesh’s international human rights obligations.