From Courtroom to Prison Cell: The New Career Path for Bangladeshi Lawyers By Sayed Abedin — Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, Barrister

Progga News Desk:

The Coup That Came in Student Uniforms

If George Orwell were alive today, he might move to Bangladesh — not for inspiration, but because reality here has long outpaced fiction.

On August 5th, 2024, Dr. Younus — a man of many secrets and even fewer votes — seized power, not through the ballot box, but via an unholy alliance with a group calling itself “Student Shomonnoyok.” Cloaked in the language of liberation, this coalition claimed to embody the spirit of the 1971 war, swearing allegiance to democracy, socialism, secularism, and nationalism — the original four pillars of Bangladesh’s 1972 Constitution.

From Founding Father to Political Arson

Their first act? Not governance. Not reform. They torched the home of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the nation’s founding father — an arsonist’s parody of patriotism. Nationalism, it seems, now comes packaged with Molotov cocktails and Taliban-style justice.

The Extremist Hall of Fame in Student Garb

The “student coalition” quickly revealed itself to be a who’s who of extremist violence: Islami Chhatra Shibir, Hizb ut-Tahrir, ISIS sympathizers, Ansarullah Bangla Team — a Netflix terror docuseries in the making. These freedom-claiming crusaders unleashed a campaign of terror: murdering minorities, torching Sufi shrines, lynching Awami League members, and dragging democracy into an open grave.

Justice in Shackles, Terror in Robes

One of their favorite pastimes? Assaulting lawyers inside courthouses — especially those who dared defend anyone affiliated with the Awami League. Dressed in black robes, these defenders of justice were targeted, beaten, and humiliated in open court. Their crime? Practicing law under the wrong regime.

Courtrooms Turn Crime Scenes

It didn’t end there. The courts — once sacred spaces of justice — are now battlegrounds. As of April 6, 2025, at least 84 lawyers have been arrested across the country, accused of murder without evidence. Their real offense? Representing the “wrong” clients — namely, anyone not blessed by the Younus Junta™. Human rights groups call it a collapse of the rule of law. The regime? They just call it Tuesday.

Punishing Yesterday’s Prosecutors

Among those detained is Tureen Afroz, former prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal, known for sending 1971 war criminals to the gallows. Her arrest is no coincidence — it’s a message. In Younus’s Bangladesh, if you once stood for justice, you now stand accused. This isn’t prosecution. It’s erasure.

Indemnity for Arsonists, Immunity for Terrorists

And if you thought that was bad — brace yourself. In a move that would make even the worst banana republics blush, Dr. Younus issued a presidential ordinance granting full indemnity to those who violently overthrew the Sheikh Hasina government. Murderers, arsonists, and street thugs of Student Shomonnoyok are now legally untouchable. No investigations. No charges. Just medals and handshakes.

Terrorists Out, Truth-Tellers In (Jail)

And guess who’s being quietly released from prison under this regime? That’s right — Islamic State-linked terrorists, including those behind the Holey Artisan massacre. While lawyers rot in jail, murderers of innocents walk free.

Secularism Dismantled, Justice Dead on Arrival

The irony is Shakespearean. A government that preaches justice jails its lawyers. A regime that chants secularism waltzes with Wahhabis. A leadership that claims to restore the Constitution tears it apart, one brick at a time — starting with secularism.

Bangladesh: Where Justice is a Crime

In Dr. Younus’s Bangladesh, war criminals are heroes, freedom fighters are fugitives, and lawyers are criminals. Rule of law? Only if the law grows a beard and swings a machete.

Welcome to the Upside-Down

So here we are. A nation where justice is punished and terror is rewarded. Where courts are cages, and democracy is a whisper.

Welcome to the upside-down — Bangladeshi edition.

God save Bangladesh. Because no one else will.