Political Secretary to the AL chief Saber Hossain Chowdhury told the press that the human rights situation in Bangladesh was "going from bad to worse and every time we hit a bottom, we find that we are hitting new lows."

"The situation is simply unacceptable and the fact that the government itself is complicit in such violation is cause for great concern. The report once again testifies to the fact that there is no rule of law in the country and all indicators point to a negation of democracy," Chowdhury said.

He described the government response to the report as predictable. He said it only vindicated what they had been saying about the state of affairs in the country.

The 2004 report released by the US State Department portrayed a grim picture of Bangladesh saying the country's "poor human rights record worsened, and the government continued to commit numerous abuses."