Rafid Azad Saumik

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Notable decisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh

Jan 9, 2025 | thedailystar.net | Rafid Azad Saumik |Khalid Khan

Last year witnessed an array of major judicial decisions shaping the jurisprudence and legal discourse in Bangladesh. Indeed, throughout the year, the High Court Division (HCD) and the Appellate Division (AD) of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh (SCB) handed down several significant judgments, of immense constitutional importance, among others. The 15th Amendment to the Constitution has been partially invalidated.
On the disproportionate use of force on protests

Aug 1, 2024 | thedailystar.net | Rafid Azad Saumik

The reason we have law enforcement agencies in modern states is to protect the rights of the citizens. However, when disproportionate force is used against the citizens by states using these agencies, the very same rights are violated. Below is an analysis keeping the quota reform movement in the background.
The everyday plight of domestic workers

May 30, 2024 | thedailystar.net | Rafid Azad Saumik

According to the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) around 20 lakh workers are engaged in domestic work. Despite their honest work and contribution, they are one of the most vulnerable and victimised groups in Bangladesh. Moreover, they get little attention in our policy-legal talks too. Indeed, with the tragic death of Preeti Urang at the house of Syed Ashraful Haque, the now-terminated executive editor of The Daily Star brought the issue to the forefront.
Decriminalising the attempt to commit suicide

Mar 28, 2024 | thedailystar.net | Rafid Azad Saumik

In Bangladesh, a comprehensive study by the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) in 2013 found that more than 10,000 people die every year owing to suicide. It is important to note that attempting to commit suicide is a punishable offence under section 309 of the Penal Code, 1860. Although we inherited this law from our colonial Master, the British decriminalised the attempt to commit suicide through the Suicide Act, 1961.
Looking Back at the Laws enacted in 2023

Jan 4, 2024 | thedailystar.net | Rafid Azad Saumik

2023 was a year filled with new legislation. A total of 50 new laws were enacted by the parliament on a wide range of areas. Law making in 2023 was by and large characterised by a reform spirit (i.e., reforming old laws), devising welfare schemes, and defining new offences. Few notable ones are discussed in this piece.
Workplace safety for construction workers

Jul 27, 2023 | thedailystar.net | Rafid Azad Saumik

On 24 June 2023, four construction site workers met gruesome death due to lack of safety standards at the construction sites. According to Bangladesh Workplace Death Report 2020 published by the Safety and Rights Society, 118 construction site workers died in 2020 alone. The reasons for such preventable deaths include electrocution, falling from a height, getting hit by objects, suffocation, etc.
Freedom of religion of the Ahmadiyya community

Mar 9, 2023 | themuslimtimes.info | Rafiq A. Tschannen |Rafid Azad Saumik

Rafid Azad SaumikFri Mar 10, 2023 / The Daily StarIn Bangladesh, the history of infringement of the rights of the Ahmadiyya people goes back a long way. The attack on Ahmadiyya Dhaka headquarters in 1992, the killing of an Ahmadiyya imam in 2003, and the besieging of Ahmadiyya mosques in 2004 are just some of them.
Freedom of religion of the Ahmadiyya community

Mar 9, 2023 | thedailystar.net | Rafid Azad Saumik

In Bangladesh, the history of infringement of the rights of the Ahmadiyya people goes back a long way. The attack on Ahmadiyya Dhaka headquarters in 1992, the killing of an Ahmadiyya imam in 2003, and the besieging of Ahmadiyya mosques in 2004 are just some of them. Clearly, the intolerance and culture of impunity responsible for the horrible attack of March 3, 2023 on the Ahmadiyyas in Panchagarh, has been the product of the failures of the state for a long time.