Dhaka, Dec. 12 -- Every year, the International Anti-Corruption Day is observed on December 9, shortly followed by the International Human Rights Day. Rarely, however, do we realise that corruption and human rights violations are organically linked with each other, creating a vicious cycle of injustice as experienced by Bangladesh during the kleptocratic rule of 2009-2024. Corruption has been causing destructive effects on the state and society for a long time now, but it reached its peak during the Awami League regime that was ousted on August 5, 2024. In addition to economic, social and political costs, it also led to frequent violations of rights throughout this period.

In fact, the transformation of an elected government into an auth...