The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, called the election environment in Bangladesh “repressive” and said that he is “deeply disturbed”.
He made the remarks in a tweet on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday.
“I’m deeply disturbed by the repressive environment surrounding upcoming elections despite our several calls on authorities to urgently end the crackdown on political activists & civil society actors,” he said in the tweet.
“I reiterate my earlier calls to refrain from excessive use of police force, violence and criminalization of CSOs, protesters and opposition in a bid to silence dissent,” said Voule in a three part twitter chain.
“Authorities have the duty to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and association and the right to political participation, ahead of, during and after elections,” he added.
