police officers. In March news stories reported a leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) died at the hospital while undergoing treatment hours after he was picked up and interrogated by the RAB. During UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s August visit to the country, she called for “an impartial, independent, and transparent investigation” into allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances. Bachelet also called for the country to rethink its position with regards to its nonparty status to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, pointing out, “Bangladesh is party to all the core UN human rights treaties, except for it.” On June 26, a joint statement made by several human rights organizations, including Odhikar and the International Federation for Human Rights, condemned acts of torture performed by police, with Odhikar reporting 90 individuals were tortured to death between November 2013 and May 2022. The joint statement includes condemnation of inaction by the government, claiming, “torture, both physical and mental, has become an institutionalized practice in the country.” Prison and Detention Center Conditions Prison conditions were harsh and at times life threatening due to severe overcrowding, inadequate facilities, physical abuse, corruption, and a lack of proper sanitation and social-distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no privately run detention facilities. Local human rights organization ASK reported 65 prisoners, of whom 37 were on trial and 28 were convicted, died in jail custody. Former detainees reported some inmates who died in prison were transported to a hospital and pronounced dead due to natural causes. Abusive Physical Conditions: As of November, according to the Bangladesh Prisons Directorate (BPD) as reported by local press, 81,156 prisoners were held in 68 facilities across the country designed to hold approximately 42,600 inmates. Prison superintendents stated they had no capacity to isolate inmates infected by COVID-19. During the pandemic, the government opened three COVID-19 isolation centers in the districts of Keraniganj, Feni, and Kishoreganj. Some Page 7