Outrage after photos show ex-B’desh minister handcuffed to hospital bed before his death

Dhaka: Images of former Bangladesh Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, handcuffed to a hospital bed while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), have triggered widespread outrage and condemnation from rights activists and legal experts, local media reported.

Humayun, a senior Awami League leader and former lawmaker, had been lodged in Dhaka Central Jail, Keraniganj. He was admitted to DMCH in a critical condition and died on September 29. Following his death, photos showing him restrained to the bed circulated on social media, sparking sharp criticism.

Although prison authorities insisted the images were from an earlier stage of his hospitalisation, lawyers and rights defenders described the act as a gross violation of human dignity.

“Keeping handcuffs on a dying or deceased person is inhuman and a stark violation of human rights. This will remain as an example of the most extreme breach of dignity,” human rights activist Nur Khan Liton told leading Bangladeshi daily, The Business Standard.

The controversy also revived discussion on a 2018 High Court ruling in response to a petition by the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), which had directed authorities to refrain from the indiscriminate use of handcuffs on detainees and to exercise caution in such matters.

Advocate Abu Obyaidur Rahman, who represented BLAST in that case, said the viral photos were a “clear breach” of the court’s directive.

“How can a 75-year-old sick man be considered a dangerous or escape-prone prisoner?” he questioned.

Rights activist Abu Ahmed Faijul Kabir also criticised the incident, calling it a “grave failure of the state”.

“An 80-year-old man, gravely ill and at the verge of death — a freedom fighter and former minister of the country — being subjected to such inhuman treatment is not only against human values but also a grave failure of state responsibility,” he said.

Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua said the act violated Article 27 of Bangladesh’s Constitution, which guarantees equality before law and equal access to healthcare.

“This selective application of law is unacceptable. Justice must be equal for all. To see an elderly, ailing man treated in this way reflects the persistence of authoritarian practices,” he said.

The incident comes against the backdrop of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government’s intensified crackdown on Awami League leaders and activists following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

Many opposition leaders have since been jailed on what critics allege are fabricated charges, with several reported to have died in custody.

IANS