Workers' Rights Activists Targeted by Security Forces

On June 16, 2010, a staff member of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity (BCWS) was detained and severely beaten by Bangladeshi security forces. This occurred just two weeks after BCWS was arbitrarily stripped of its legal status as an NGO, after being accused of inciting unrest in garment factories. The confiscation of its property and the freezing of its bank account was also ordered.

BCWS are an internationally renowned labour organisation who were carrying out legitimate organising work. There is no evidence linking them to the unrest that rocked the industry for several months. Rather, the timing of events suggests that this crackdown against BCWS may have taken place at the behest of a garment factory where workers are attempting to form an independent union.