an anti-terrorism case, one month after they were detained by the police. Their family told media that their whereabouts remained unknown during that period. The police denied the allegation of enforced disappearance and accused the couple of being recruiters for the banned militant group Ansar-al-Islam. TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT Bangladesh failed to submit its report to the UN Committee against Torture, due in August. Custodial deaths continued to be reported in the media with alarming frequency. Odhikar estimated at least 94 deaths in jail custody in the first nine months of the year. Authorities failed to ensure prompt, effective, impartial and independent investigations into deaths in custody. In March, Sultana Jasmine, a government employee detained under the DSA died in custody due to internal bleeding in her head. The Supreme Court ordered a probe committee to be formed to investigate her death after finding inconsistencies in the official post-mortem report. The case remained ongoing. In June, Ekramul Hossain, a farmer, died in police custody after being detained on drug related charges, although no drugs were found in his possession. His family alleged that the police tortured him in custody because they were unable to pay the demanded bribe. The police refuted this, claiming that Ekramul Hossain “tripped and fell” when trying to flee. In July, a court in the north-western Natore district ordered the Superintendent of Police to prosecute five police officers accused of torturing three men to extract confessions in a robbery case. The Superintendent refuted the torture allegation by asserting that the men “fell and hurt themselves” when trying to escape from the police. The investigation order was later stayed by a higher court, while two of the police officers accused of torture were awarded prizes for “best police officers of the month” 10 days later by Natore police. The State of the World’s Human Rights WORKERS’ RIGHTS April marked 10 years since the Rana Plaza collapse, which left more than 1,100 garment workers dead and thousands injured. Despite the reforms that followed, occupational safety remained a distant dream for many workers. The Safety and Rights Society estimated that at least 875 workers were killed in 712 workplace accidents in 2023, marking a rise from 712 deaths recorded in 2022. In June, the president of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers’ Federation was beaten to death by a group of armed men outside a factory where he was intervening on behalf of workers over a dispute relating to unpaid wages. In October and November, at least three workers were killed in protests relating to the national minimum wage for ready-made garment (RMG) workers due to lethal force used by law enforcement. RMG workers called for their monthly wage to be increased from BDT 8,000 (USD 74) to at least BDT 23,000 (USD 212). However, in November, the government announced that the minimum wage would increase to only BDT 12,500 (USD 114). In November, the government amended the labour law to increase maternity leave from 112 days to 120 days and lower the number of workers’ signatures required for the formation of trade unions. Workers’ rights groups demanded the withdrawal of the Essential Services Bill tabled in parliament. The proposed law would render industrial action by workers – such as protests – unlawful in any sector deemed “essential” by the government. Authorities weaponized labour laws to launch a criminal prosecution against 83year-old Nobel Laureate Mohammad Yunus and three of his colleagues at Grameen Telecom, alleging non-compliance with the Labour Act 2006. The ongoing trial proceeded with unusual speed and was one of more than 150 cases filed against Mohammad Yunus since the Awami League party came into power in 2008, with the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina publicly denigrating him on many occasions.8 93