Friday, 06 February 2026
A businessman was publicly stoned to death by a mob in the capital's Old Dhaka. -File photo
Mass Atrocities, Minority Persecution, and the Erasure of Democracy (Period Covered: August 2024 – January 2026, collected from varieties of agencies)
Executive Summary
Since the interim government assumed power in August 2024, Bangladesh has entered a period of systemic collapse across human rights, rule of law, democratic governance and economic performance. This is no longer a series of isolated incidents — it reflects systemic institutional collapse and a growing climate of fear, intimidation and impunity. Evidence from the United Nations, national human-rights organizations, and national and international media documents:
1. Collapse of rule of law
2. Silencing of media and persecution of journalists
3. Collapse of the economy
4. Normalization of mob violence and promotion of radicals
5. Mass killings and arbitrary detention
6. Explosive growth in mob violence
7. Systematic repression of opposition: namely AL supporters, Mukti Judder Chetona and Hindus
8. Persecution of minorities including Hindus, Christian, Ahmedia, etc
9. Destruction of state institutions in the name of “reform”
10. Killing of police personnel
11. Restriction of electoral participation to a “chosen” political group
12. Nationwide rise of jihadist groups and release of convicted terrorists
13. Plans to eliminate democracy through a so-called referendum
14. Looting and vandalism of several hundred thousand homes and businesses
15. Politicization of judiciary
16. Radical Islamic Resurgence and widespread Jihadi terrorist activities
17. Widespread sexual violence, including against children
18. Custodial deaths and extrajudicial killings
19. Destruction of cultural centers and organizations
20. Spread of lies, venomous propaganda, and wild accusations even by government agencies.
This is not a transitional phase. It reflects structural impunity and democratic breakdown, requiring urgent international oversight and conditional engagement.
1. Targeted Killings/detention of the Awami League (AL) supporters.
* 537 AL leaders/activists killed
* 359,789 AL supporters arrested (Aug 2024–May 2025)
* 124 Members of Parliament detained, including 15 women
The Awami League (AL) party banned through executive orders. Opposition politics has effectively been criminalized. Reportedly 18,700 false cases filed against AL involving nearly 300,000 AL supporters of which 4017 murder cases.
2.Mob Violence: Collapse of the Rule of Law
(a) According to Ain-o-Salish Kendra (ASK), a Human Rights organization:
• 197 people were killed by mob violence in 2025, up from 128 in 2024
• Killings involved public lynching, prolonged beatings, and burning
• Ineffective police intervention and prosecution remain rare,
*Over half a million AL supporters have been detained without bails, many were killed extra judiciously even inside jails.
(b) According to Global Human Rights organization:
* 637 people killed in mob lynching (Aug 2024–July 2025)
* 86 custodial extrajudicial killings (Sept 2024–Jan 2026)
* 42 AL detainees died in prison
One AL supporter who refused to pay extortion money was killed by stoning with rocks like medieval time.
Conclusion:
Mob justice has become normalized, indicating a functional breakdown of state authority.
3.Anti-Hindu and Christian Violence & Religious Hatred
Documented Pattern Since August 2024
International reporting and minority-rights monitoring show:
• 2,000+ communal violence incidents immediately after the 2024 upheaval
• 174 verified incidents (Aug–Dec 2024), including 23 killings, 9 rapes
• Widespread arson, destruction of temples, majars, graveyards and forced displacement.
* 182+ minorities killed, including indigenous persons
* 2,796 documented incidents of minority persecution
* 58 minority women raped; 700+ subjected to sexual violence
* 17 Churches burned (Christmas 2024)
* Threats issued to churches in 2025
In Chattogram Hill Tracts: 103 violations, including 49 arbitrary arrests and 300+ acres of indigenous land seized
One Hindu garment worker was burned alive like the medieval times.
Key Point:
Hindu communities have been disproportionately targeted, and the state has failed to provide equal protection under the law.
4. Sexual Violence & Rape — Including Children
Credible Trends
• Rights-based reporting in 2025 indicates a sharp rise in rape almost 400% and sexual violence, including girls and children
* 12,726 cases of violence against women
* 4,105 rape cases (Sept 2024–June 2025)
• Human Rights analysis further reported:
* 68% increase in rape cases in the first seven months of 2025
* 38% increase in violence against children (year-on-year)
• Minority-rights documentation confirms rape used as part of communal violence, particularly against Hindu women and girls.
5.Governance Failure
Government reported
44 police officers, 2 Ansars, 1 BGB officer killed
182 police missing
464 police stations attacked, looted, vandalized or burned
Reportedly 3200 police men and women were butchered by jihadis between 16 July and 8 August
Serious credibility loss of the Government and also the UN Human Rights Commission
As per credible reports, a total of 657 died during 16 July to 8 August, 2024 (by police and private sharp shooters) of which 329 died between 16 July and 5 August (day of Sheikh Hasina’s downfall) and 328 died between 5 August and 8 August totaling 657 deaths. The UN preliminary report estimated 650 deaths. Dr. Yunus government’s Health Ministry reported 824 deaths during 16 July and 15 August. This includes deaths due to traffic accident, normal deaths, death due to heart attacks, snake bites, etc. of which once 52 and another 21 reappeared as ‘alive’, not dead.
However, once the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Turk met Professor Muhammad Yunus, he accepted Professor Yunus’s narrative of 1500 deaths. It may be mentioned here that (1) during Syrian uprising it was reported of 1400 died due to deadly Syringe chemical gas. (2) In the case of Libya, it was estimated 1400 deaths in the Abu Salim prison riot and in Israel on 7 October 2023, it was initially reported 1500 deaths and later corrected as 1219 died (including 46 Americans) plus 230 kidnapped by Hamas. It is possible, Dr. Yunus had 1500 in his head and his friend Volker Turk without any credible evidence accepted his Nobel Laureate friend’s false narrative and thus, he first (1) undermined the credibility of the UN report and secondly, (2) he did an injustice to those young boys and girls that actually sacrificed their lives during the July uprising. Since Yunus government announced lucrative multiple benefits to the victims of July uprising, numbers shoot up dramatically to enjoy the benefits. The UN and Mr. Volker Turk should correctly and fully investigate the total deaths during the uprising and apologize to the nation foir false reporting. . .
Government issued Indemnity to the killers from 16 July to 15 August, 2024. The killers and arsonists cannot be sued in any court by victims or victims’ families and police are instructed not to entertain any cases against the killers.
Bangladesh lacks a transparent, audited national reporting system for sexual violence:
• No age-disaggregated public data
• No reliable case-outcome tracking
• Inadequate survivor protection
Result: under-reporting, intimidation of victims, and impunity.
6. Assault on Media and Freedom of speech
184 journalists’ accreditation revoked
354 journalists implicated in cases widely described as fabricated
18 arrested on false murder charges
523 incidents of journalist persecution
Media offices have been ransacked, burned down, editors and reporters attacked and assaulted, and female journalists harassed, severely undermining press freedom.
7. Education, Youth & Economic Instability
Since August 2024:
• Repeated school and college closures
• Textbook delays and disrupted examinations
• Teacher strikes and administrative paralysis
* 45 university teachers dismissed; 200 suspended
* 2,000 faculty sanctioned
* 2,500 teachers attacked
* 100 charged in alleged false cases
* 200,000+ students affected through expulsion, denial of exams, or harassment
* Beyond academia, 700+ lawyers and professionals face cases widely seen as politically motivated.
Impact:
• A lost academic year for thousands of students
* Quality of education sharply deteriorated
* Respect for education and learning wiped out
• Rising youth frustration and anger
• Increased vulnerability to mob mobilization and radicalization
Economic consequences include weak investor confidence and supply-chain disruption despite optimistic official projections.
8. Economy is precarious condition and future is uncertain
The Bangladesh economy was one of the top 3 best performing economies of the world prior to downfall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It increased its GDP from $90 billion to $478 billion and hoping to have a trillion dollar economy by 2030, one of the top 25 economies of the world. It was aiming at hunger-free country by 2030 and a prosperous digital economy by 2041. All these hopes and dreams have gone since the change of the government in August 2024.
The UN termed Bangladesh as a ‘model of economic development’ and the Wall Street Journal called it ‘a standard bearer of the South’. It was emerging an economic tiger. It achieved an average 6.6% GDP growth rate for over 15 years and it reduced poverty from 42% in 2006 to below 18% in 2023 and extreme poverty from 24% to 5.6 percent. But since 2024, its GDP growth rate reduced to 3.3%, nearly half, lowest in 3 decades and its extreme poverty sharply increased to 9% and poverty to 25% now. Its stock market collapsed and its banking sector is on the verge of bankruptcy. As per international agencies, nearly 62.5 million people will face starvation due to ill governance, political uncertainty and lawlessness. Bangladesh has 3 major sectors for its growth and they are its RMG, Agriculture and Remittance sectors. While RMG and Agriculture sectors are badly hit, its Remittance sector is keeping its economy going. In the meantime,
* 393 garment factories shut down and 50% factories will close down soon
* 3 million were laid off of which 85% are women work force
* Per capita income sharply reduced leading to challenges of managing daily needs
* electricity and energy shortages wild
* Unemployment sharply increased and an additional 26.6 million added to roster
* Inflation is ranging between 8% to 12%
* Exports declined, and
* No new Investment both domestic and foreign.
* No new job creation
9. Custodial Deaths & Extrajudicial Killings nearly 179 deaths inside jails
• Human-rights organizations documented dozens of custodial deaths in 2025
• Odhikar (a government NGO) reported 40 extrajudicial killings between Aug 2024 – Sept 2025
• Killings are routinely labeled as “crossfire” or “encounters”
No independent investigative or prosecutorial framework exists.
10. Emblematic Atrocities Under the Interim Government
A. Public Lynching by University Students in Dhaka
A widely reported incident in Dhaka involved the public lynching of a young man by university students:
• The victim was forced to eat
• He was beaten over a prolonged period
• The assault occurred in public
• The victim later died from his injuries
Why it matters:
This demonstrates the normalization of mob brutality even among educated youth and the absence of immediate law-enforcement deterrence.
B. Lynching and Burning Alive of a Hindu Man by Islamist Mob
Another incident involved the lynching and burning alive of a Hindu man by a mob reportedly linked to Jamaat-e-Islami-aligned and radicalized Islamist elements:
• The victim was brutally assaulted
• He was set on fire while still alive
• The attack was driven by religious hatred
• It occurred in public, without effective state protection
Why it matters:
This was a deliberate act of communal terror, symbolizing the existential insecurity faced by Hindu minorities.
11. Non-Credible Election & Democratic Collapse
Exclusion of the Major Political Party
Since August 2024, the interim authorities have pursued a political process that cannot be considered a credible democratic transition due to the systematic exclusion of Bangladesh’s largest political party, the Awami League (AL).
Key facts:
The Awami League (AL) has historically:
* Secured the largest nationwide voter base
* The party that lead the independent and many movements and revolutions since 1948
Under the interim administration:
* Party leaders and activists have faced mass arrests and fraudulent murder charges
* Party offices have been attacked, shut down, or vandalized
* Political participation has been effectively criminalized
* Supporters have been targeted by mob violence and intimidation
*295,000 houses of AL leaders and supporters have been looted, vandalized and burned down.
Result:
An election conducted without the participation of the country’s largest party is no democracy and it cannot reflect the will of the electorate and amounts to de facto disenfranchisement of millions of voters. As per surveys, nearly 70% supports the AL party.
12. Critical Transparency Failures
There is no publicly available, audited national data on:
• Political detainees
• Prison and custodial deaths
• Nationwide rape statistics
• Weapons looted during unrest
• Economic damage from violence
This lack of transparency shields perpetrators and blocks accountability.
Recommendations
* Immediate restoration of civil liberties and rule of law
* Independent, impartial investigations into all alleged human rights violations
*Free, fair, inclusive national elections under a neutral caretaker framework involving all political parties, and
* Immediate resignation of the Yunus government as it is highly partisan, vindictive and unfit to govern effectively and efficiently. It has abdicated itself of its responsibility of punishing the culprits and has given free hand to radical jihadis to run the administration.
13.Policy Requests to U.S. Lawmakers, State Dept. Officials and Stakeholders
First, we thank the US government as it decided not to send election observers to the Upcoming Sham election in Bangladesh on 12 February, 2026. We also thank the UN for deciding not to send election observers to the doctored election.
We respectfully urge the United States to:
1.Support UN-led monitoring and follow-up investigations
2.Condition diplomatic, security, and economic engagement on:
• Ending mob violence
• Prosecuting communal and sexual crimes
• Publishing audited human-rights data
3.Demand independent investigations into:
• Rape and sexual violence (including children)
• Anti-Hindu attacks
• Custodial and extrajudicial killings
• Inclusion of major political parties. Alternatively, withdraw bans on political parties
• Release of political detainees and journalists
• Withdraw all false cases against political activists and journalists
• Credible international election observation
*Reject normalization of impunity in the name of stability.
The Ending Message
since August 2024, Bangladesh has suffered a severe human-rights and democratic collapse. UN findings confirm mass killings and arbitrary detention; rights groups report nearly 6770 killed of which 667 mob-killing deaths in 2025 alone; minority monitors document killings, rapes, and arson targeting Hindus; sexual violence against women and children has surged; and the largest political party has been excluded from the electoral process. This is not stability — it is systemic impunity. We urge U.S. engagement grounded in accountability, inclusion, and rule of law.
(Professor Dr A. K. Abdul Momen, PhD, MBA, LLB, MPA, MA, BA (Hons))
Former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh (2019-24) and
Former Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN (2009-15)
Editor & Publisher
Dulal Ahmed Chowdhury
www.newsdiplomats.com
The News Diplomats
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Toronto, Canada.
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