State-Sponsored Massacre in Gopalganj: A Human Rights Catastrophe Behind the Mask of the Yunus Administration

By Advocate Shahanur Islam

July 16, 2025, will be remembered as another blood-stained black day in Bangladesh’s history. On this day, under the command of the interim government led by Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus—an administration that came to power promising rule of law, democracy, and human rights—the military, alongside the police, opened fire on unarmed civilians in Gopalganj. At least five people were killed and over a hundred injured, with many still reported missing.

They did not stop with the killings and injuries; rather, they snatched the fundamental rights of Gopalganj’s people by imposing a curfew since the day of the violence.

PRESS RELEASE: Congratulations to the Interim Government of Bangladesh on Signing the MoU for Establishing the UN Human Rights Office in Dhaka: Immediate Priority Must Be Given to Investigating the Gopalganj Shooting Incident

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Paris, France; 18 July 2025: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) extends its sincere congratulations and best wishes to the United Nations and the Interim Government of Bangladesh for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a regional office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Dhaka, aimed at protecting and promoting human rights in the country.

The MoU, signed in Geneva between UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, is regarded by JMBF as a landmark step towards improving the human rights situation in Bangladesh.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Concerned Over Killing of Four and Injury to Hundreds of Unarmed Protesters by Deadly Army Firing in Gopalganj

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Paris, France; 16 July 2025: The France-based human rights organization JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France(JMBF) expresses deep concern, anger, and protest over the incident in Gopalganj, where the police and army opened deadly fire on unarmed civilians protesting to protect the graveyard of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman—killing at least four innocent people and injuring more than a hundred.

JMBF strongly believes that opening deadly fire on peaceful, unarmed protesters—opposing the arrogant anti-Mujibism promoted by the National Citizens Party (NCP), backed by the current interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus—as well as threatening to destroy Bangabandhu’s graveyard in Tungipara, similar to the demolition of his house at 32 Dhanmondi Road, is a gross violation of Bangladesh’s Constitution, existing laws, and the fundamental human rights enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

BANGLADESH: Strong Condemnation and Deep Concern Over a Series of Mysterious and Unnatural Deaths of Awami League Leaders and Activists in Custody During Interim Government Rule

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Paris, France | 17 June 2025: The Paris-based human rights organization, JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), expresses its deepest concern and strongest condemnation over the alarming and disturbing rise in unnatural and mysterious deaths of detained Awami League leaders and activists in central and district prisons across Bangladesh under the current interim government. Since the formation of the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus on 8 August 2024, more than 24 members of the ruling party and its affiliated organizations have reportedly died in custody over the past ten months. JMBF firmly believes that most of these deaths involve allegations of brutal torture, deliberate medical neglect, and politically motivated killings—amounting to gross violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

গোপালগঞ্জে গভীর রাতে বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় ছাত্রকে পুলিশী নির্যাতনের বিষয়ে যথাযথ তদন্তপূর্বক প্রয়োজনীয় ব্যবস্থা গ্রহণ করা হোক!

বরাবর,

জনাব আসাদুজ্জামান খান, এম.পি

মাননীয় মন্ত্রী

স্বরাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রণালয়

গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার

বাংলাদেশ সচিবালয়

ঢাকা-১০০০।

ইমেইলঃ minister@mha.gov.bd

বিষয়ঃ গোপালগঞ্জে গভীর রাতে বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় ছাত্রকে পুলিশী নির্যাতনের বিষয়ে যথাযথ তদন্তপূর্বক প্রয়োজনীয় ব্যবস্থা গ্রহণ করা হোক!