They also expressed concern that the defendants were being held too long before trial, and that in some cases there was evidence of torture or ill-treatment in custody.

International Bangladesh Foundation organised the seminar titled 'Bangladesh: The Way Forward' at Moses Room in the House of Lords on Monday, with Lord Avebury, vice-chair of All Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group, in the chair.

MPs, MEPs, peers, representatives of human rights organisations, academics and members of diplomatic missions based in London attended the seminar. Syeda Muna Tasneem, counsellor of Bangladesh High Commission, gave an overview of the caretaker government's reform plans.

The speakers said that the timeline of the end of 2008 for the elections should be maintained, and that if the election roadmap to be published in July shows that an earlier date was feasible, the timetable should be accelerated.

The seminar also noted that a commission to decide on land claims in the Chittagong Hill Tracts was being activated, and hoped that close attention would be paid to allegations of violations of indigenous people's rights.

Lord Avebury said, "I was glad to hear that the body of Chalesh Ritchil, the indigenous leader who was arrested on March 18 and died in custody the same day, has been exhumed with a view to conducting an autopsy. I had asked the Bangladesh government to conduct a full investigation into his death, and I understand that the exhumation will lead to a judicial inquiry."

The speakers expressed concerns over continued threat of terrorism and the threats against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.

They also urged the caretaker government to respect human rights, provide legal aid and ensure that no torture takes place.

In his concluding remarks, Lord Avebury said, "The caretaker government has formidable tasks in their hand, which may need substantial help from the international community. The government has already asked for assistance in the immediate task of preparing the electoral register, and we look forward to hearing what response there has been, and what progress there has been on the promised roadmap. If there are other resources needed, we need to know how we can help."

Sultan Shariff of Awami League, Ayesha Chowdhury of BNP, Ayub Korom Ali of Gono Forum, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Baroness Pola Uddin, Robert Evans, Jean Lambert, Abbas Faiz of Amnesty International, Salim Malik of Ahmadiyya Muslim community, Prof Mustaq Khan of University of London, Dr Gareth Price of Chatham House, Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch, Dr David Lewis of London School of Economics, Rosie Cave of Safer World, Maggie Bowden of Liberation and Prasanta Barua also spoke.