DETAINED ABROAD

Which offences carry the death penalty in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh retains the death penalty and continued to impose death sentences in 2024. Capital punishment applies to 33 offences under Bangladeshi law, including several non-lethal crimes. Key categories include:

• • Murder and aggravated murder — under the Penal Code 1860
  • Rape — including gang rape; certain rape offences carry a mandatory death sentence following 2020 amendments
  • Terrorism offences — under the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009
  • War crimes and crimes against humanity — under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973, as amended
  • Drug trafficking — certain offences under the Narcotics Control Act 1990
  • Kidnapping — where the victim is killed or where ransom is demanded and murder follows
  • Arson causing death
  • Enforced Disappearance Ordinance (2025) — Recently introduced by the Interim Government, allowing the death penalty for enforced disappearances.

The death penalty is not mandatory for most offences — courts retain discretion to impose life imprisonment as an alternative — with the exception of certain rape offences following the 2020 amendment to the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, which introduced a mandatory death penalty for gang rape. Amnesty International has noted that in 2024, at least 165 death sentences were imposed, including for three drug-related offences, twelve rape cases, and the remainder for intentional killings. Odhikar recorded 307 death sentences in lower courts in the same year.^{[17]Penal Code 1860 (Bangladesh). http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-11.html; Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000 (Bangladesh), as amended 2020; Narcotics Control Act 1990 (Bangladesh); Odhikar, ‘Annual Human Rights Report 2024’ (10 February 2025) 42; Amnesty International, ‘Death Sentences and Executions 2024’ (8 April 2025). https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/act50/8976/2025/en/; European Union Agency for Asylum, ‘Bangladesh: Country Focus’ (August 2025). https://www.euaa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publications/2025-08/2025_08_COI_Report_Bangladesh_Country_Focus_EN.pdf}

What additional protections apply to a foreign national facing a capital charge?

The general procedural safeguards applicable to all capital accused under Bangladeshi law include the right to appeal a death sentence to the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, followed by a further appeal to the Appellate Division. A death sentence imposed by a Sessions Court must be confirmed by the High Court Division before it can be carried into effect — this mandatory confirmation process provides an automatic layer of appellate review. In May 2024, the High Court of Dhaka additionally ruled that keeping death row inmates in solitary confinement before they have exhausted their appeals is unconstitutional.

Additionally, there are specific legal and statutory bars that prevent the imposition or execution of the death sentence for certain categories of individuals:

• Children (Minors): Under the Children Act 2013, there is an absolute bar on sentencing anyone to death who was a child (under the age of 18) at the time the offence was committed.
• Pregnant Women: Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the High Court Division must order the execution of a death sentence to be postponed if a woman is found to be pregnant.
• Mental Incapacity (Unsoundness of Mind): Under the Penal Code 1860, nothing is an offence if committed by a person who, at the time of the act, was “incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that he is doing what is either wrong or contrary to law” due to unsoundness of mind.

In practice, fair trial standards in capital cases are consistently not met. Amnesty International documented in 2024 that death sentences were imposed in proceedings that did not meet international fair trial standards, and some were imposed in absentia. The OHCHR Fact-Finding Team found the judiciary to be underfunded, subject to political pressure, and prone to corruption.^{[18]The Children Act 2013 (Bangladesh); Penal Code 1860 (Bangladesh). http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-11.html; Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (Bangladesh). http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-75.html; ‘BD court limits solitary confinement for death row inmates’ The News International (14 May 2024). https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1188815-bd-court-limits-solitary-confinement-for-death-row-inmate; Amnesty International, ‘Death Sentences and Executions 2024’ (8 April 2025). https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/act50/8976/2025/en/; UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Report of the Fact-Finding Team on Bangladesh’ (2024). https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ohchr-fact-finding-report-human-rights-violations-and-abuses-related}

Can evidence or documentation from a foreign national’s home country be submitted in proceedings?

Yes, provided that documents meet the evidentiary standards set by the Evidence Act 1872 and the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (CrPC), both of which remain in force in Bangladesh.

Documentary evidence from abroad

Foreign public documents (such as birth certificates, court records, medical records, or character references) are admissible as secondary evidence under the Evidence Act 1872. The mode of proof depends on the document type:

• Foreign judicial records (section 86): A court may presume a certified copy of a foreign judicial record to be genuine and accurate, provided the copy is certified in a manner confirmed by a representative of Bangladesh’s government in that country to be the customary certification method used there.
• Other foreign public documents (section 78(6)): Documents must be proved either by the original, or by a copy certified by its legal custodian, accompanied by a certificate — under the seal of a notary public, or of a Bangladesh Consul or diplomatic agent — that the copy is duly certified by the officer with lawful custody of the original. Proof of the character of the document according to the law of the foreign country is also required.

This makes the consulate a critical intermediary: in practice, the Bangladesh consulate or embassy in the home country must certify or attest the documents to establish their admissibility.

Witness evidence from abroad

Under section 503 of the CrPC, where a witness is located outside Bangladesh and their attendance cannot be procured without unreasonable delay or expense, a court — including a Sessions Court — may issue a commission to take that witness’s evidence abroad. Where the witness resides in a Commonwealth country or Burma, and a reciprocal arrangement exists, the commission may be directed to the relevant court or judge in that country. In other cases, the commission is typically executed through the local consulate or a designated foreign authority. Parties may submit written interrogatories and cross-examine the witness through this procedure (section 505 CrPC). The testimony, once returned, becomes part of the case record and may be used as evidence.^{[19]Evidence Act 1872 (Bangladesh). http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-24.html; Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (Bangladesh). http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-75.html}

What pardon or clemency mechanisms are available?

Article 49 of the Constitution of Bangladesh 1972 vests the President with the power to grant pardons, reprieves, and respites, and to remit, suspend, or commute any sentence passed by any court. This power applies to all convicted persons, including foreign nationals. There is no separate constitutional provision excluding any category of offence from clemency consideration. There is no publicly available standardised procedure setting out the criteria for assessment, the timelines for decision, or the right to reasons if a petition is refused.

The UN Human Rights Committee, in its 2017 Concluding Observations on Bangladesh, expressed concern about the lack of transparency and procedural safeguards in the clemency process. Consular involvement in supporting a mercy petition, including gathering character evidence, medical assessments, and documentation of mitigating factors from the home country, is therefore particularly important, as there is no formal mechanism requiring such matters to be considered.^{[20]Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh 1972, art 49. http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-367.html; UN Human Rights Committee, ‘Concluding Observations on the Initial Report of Bangladesh’ (2017) UN Doc CCPR/C/BGD/CO/1. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/concluding-observations/concluding-observations-initial-report-bangladesh}