BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Strongly Condemns the Brutal Murder of Lawyer Nizam Uddin Shanto in Bagerhat

Scroll down to read Bengali & French version of this Bangladesh Alert

Paris, France | 25 July 2026: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expresses its deep concern, outrage, and unequivocal condemnation over the brutal murder of Advocate Nizam Uddin Shanto (42), a member of the Bagerhat District Bar Association, who was fatally stabbed by unidentified assailants after they intercepted him while he was returning home on his motorcycle in the Harikhali Tetultala area of Bagerhat town on the night of 24 July 2026.

URGENT APPEAL: Ensure an Immediate High-Level Independent Investigation and Appropriate Legal Action Regarding the Injury of a Female Apprentice Lawyer Allegedly Caused by a Judicial Magistrate in Gopalganj

Scroll down to read Bengali & French version of this Urgent Appeal

URGENT ACTION REQUESTED: Seeking an Independent Investigation and Accountability Regarding the Injury of a Female Apprentice Lawyer Allegedly Caused by a Judicial Magistrate in Gopalganj

Paris, France I 23 July 2026: JMBF urgently seeks your intervention regarding the reported injury of Ms. Sabiha Sultana, a female apprentice lawyer, who was allegedly struck on the head by a glass paperweight thrown by Judicial Magistrate Md. Sujon Miaduring court proceedings at the Judicial Magistrate Court-2 of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Gopalganj, Bangladesh, on 22 July 2026.

URGENT APPEAL: Immediate Action Required Regarding the Alleged Assault on Pro-Awami League Lawyers at the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court Premises

For the Bengali and French versions of this urgent appeal, please scroll down.

URGENT ACTION REQUESTED: Investigation into the Alleged Assault and Forcible Expulsion of Pro-Awami League Lawyers in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Paris, France I 17 July 2026: JMBF urgently seeks your intervention regarding the reported assault and Forcible Expulsion of pro-Awami League lawyers from the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court premises on 14 July 2026.

JOINT STATEMENT: Condemning Politically Motivated Exclusion, Intimidation, and Interference in the Democratic Governance of the Legal Profession in Bangladesh

Paris | Brussels | The Hague | Berlin | Geneva | Rome | Bordeaux | Canberra | Vilnius | Varanasi | Astana | 7 July 2026

We, the undersigned sixteen international human rights organisations, bar associations, and law societies from across the globe, express our profound concern and unequivocally condemn the widespread obstruction, intimidation, and politically motivated exclusion of lawyers identified as supporters of the Awami League or as independent candidates from participating in bar association elections throughout Bangladesh since the formation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led Government under the leadership of Tarique Rahman on 17 February 2026.

JMBF President Raises Deep Concern Over the Accelerating Crackdown Against the Legal Profession in Bangladesh at the OIAD General Assembly in Rome

Paris, France | 19 June 2026: The President of JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), Advocate Shahanur Islam, raised deep concern over the accelerating crackdown against the legal profession in Bangladesh while speaking at the 2026 General Assembly of the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD), held on 17 June 2026 at the headquarters of the Italian National Bar Council (Consiglio Nazionale Forense – CNF) in Rome, Italy.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JMBF Publishes Special Report on Escalating Intimidation, Exclusion, and Obstruction in Bangladesh Bar Association Elections

Paris, France | 31 May 2026: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) today published a special report titled “Silencing the Legal Profession: Escalating Intimidation, Exclusion, and Obstruction of Bar Association Elections in Bangladesh (17 February–30 May 2026),” documenting widespread allegations of political exclusion, intimidation, and procedural obstruction in bar association elections held across Bangladesh during the reporting period.

Silencing the Legal Profession: Escalating Intimidation, Exclusion, and Obstruction of Bar Associations Election in Bangladesh

JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) documented data of irregularities of bar association elections held across Bangladesh between 17 February and 30 May 2026 under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government reveal a deeply concerning pattern of alleged political exclusion, intimidation, and suppression targeting lawyers perceived to be affiliated with the Bangladesh Awami League and its allied professional groups. The reported incidents were neither isolated nor sporadic; rather, they reflected a broader and increasingly systematic trend affecting bar associations nationwide, including the highly significant Supreme Court Bar Association.

Obstructing Bar Association Elections on Political Grounds: Is This the BNP Government’s Newly Invented Democracy?

Advocate Shahanur Islam

Throughout Bangladesh’s history, whenever democracy has weakened, the first blows have fallen upon its institutions. The judiciary, universities, the media, and professional organizations have gradually been transformed into testing grounds for political loyalty. What is currently unfolding within the country’s bar associations is merely a new version of the same dangerous trend established during the previous interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Condemns Exclusion of 39 Pro-Awami League Lawyers from Gazipur Bar Election

Paris, France | 14 May 2026: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) strongly condemns the reported denial of nomination papers to 39 lawyers seeking to contest the 2026 Gazipur District Bar Association election as independent candidates on the basis of their alleged political affiliation with the Bangladesh Awami League on 10 May 2026. The election is scheduled to be held on 21 May 2026.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Strongly Condemns Obstruction Against Pro-Awami League Lawyers in Upcoming CDBA Election

Paris, France | 10 May 2026: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) strongly condemns the reported obstruction, intimidation, and assault on pro-Awami League lawyers during the nomination process for the upcoming election of the Chattogram District Bar Association (CDBA) on 4 May 2026.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Concerned Over the Cancellation of 42 Pro-AL Lawyer Nominations in SCBA Polls

Paris, France | 28 April, 2026: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) strongly condemns the decision of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to cancel the nomination papers of more than 42 lawyers allegedly affiliated with the Awami League, effectively barring them from contesting the upcoming SCBA elections scheduled for May 13–14, 2026.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Condemns Politically Motivated Cancellation of Lawyers’ Nominations in Munshiganj and Mymensingh

Paris, France | 17 April 2026: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expresses deep concern, strong condemnation, and profound outrage over the recent pattern of irregularities, discriminatory treatment against legal professionals, cancellation of candidacies of pro-Awami League lawyers solely on the basis of political ideology, obstruction of their participation in elections, and police interference in the elections of various district bar associations across Bangladesh, including Munshiganj, Mymensingh, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh, Jhalakathi, Khulna, Narail, and Sunamganj, under the tenure of the newly formed Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Concerned Over Obstruction to Participation of Pro-Awami League Lawyers in Bar Association Elections

Paris, France | 15 April 2026: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expresses deep concern, strong condemnation, and protest over serious allegations in recent bar association elections in Dhaka, Shariatpur, Chandpur, Dinajpur, and Naogaon, where Bangladesh Awami League-aligned lawyers and independent candidates were obstructed from participating, prevented from submitting nomination papers, and, in some cases, even subjected to physical harassment solely due to their political ideology.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Concerned Over the Arrest of 2 Lawyers in Sunamganj

Paris, France | 27 March 2026: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expresses deep concern and strongly condemns the arrest of two lawyers, Advocate Monish Kanti Dey (Mintu) and Advocate Mizanur Rahman (Shamim), and the filing of a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act against 27 lawyers on 26 March, following an incident in Sunamganj where lawyers paid tribute to the martyrs on the occasion of Independence and National Day by placing wreaths at the memorial and chanting patriotic slogans.

PRESS RELEASE: JMBF's Statement on the International Day of Endangered Lawyers 2026

Paris, France | 23 January 2026: On 24 January 2026, on the occasion of the International Day of Endangered Lawyers, JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) is compelled to state an uncomfortable truth: the gravest threat to the independence of lawyers in Bangladesh today stems not from chaos, but from governance failure under the current interim government led by Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.

JOINT STATEMENT: Lawyer Killed in Mob Violence While Seeking High Court Bail in False and Fabricated Case Linked to Anti-Discrimination Movement in Bangladesh

France, Poland, Egypt, India, Srilanka, Kazakhstan, Indonesia | 09 January 2026: We, the undersigned human rights organizations, bar associations and individual legal experts, express our deep shock and grave concern over the brutal killing of Advocate Nayem Kibria (35), a pro–Awami League lawyer and practicing member of the Pabna District Judge Court, who was beaten to death by an organized mob in the Bashundhara Residential Area of Dhakaon the night of 31 December 2025.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Condemns the Killing of a Pro–Awami League Lawyer in Organised Mob Violence

Paris, France | 01 January 2026: Paris-based human rights organisation JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) is deeply shocked and gravely concerned over the brutal killing of Advocate Nayem Kibria (35), a pro–Awami League lawyer and a practising member of the Pabna District Judge Court, who was beaten to death by an organised mob in the Bashundhara Residential Area of Dhaka on the night of 31 December 2025.

UPDATE ALERT: JMBF Gravely Concerned and Strongly Condemns the Continuing Threats Against Advocate Mohammad Alamgir, Secretary General of JMBF

Paris, France | 28 November 2025: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) is gravely concerned and strongly condemns the ongoing threats and intimidation directed at Advocate Mohammad Alamgir, a member of the District Bar Association Dhaka & Brahmanbaria and the Secretary General of JMBF. JMBF firmly believes that these incidents constitute a deeply alarming attack on the independence of the legal profession and on the safety of a committed human rights defender.

Simultaneously, JMBF urges the Interim Government of Bangladesh to take immediate and effective steps to ensure the safety and security of Advocate Alamgir. JMBF also calls upon the authorities to swiftly arrest all individuals involved in issuing these threats, following a genuinely independent judicial investigation led by a Justice of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Condemns Threats to Defense Lawyer at the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka

“বাংলা ভাষার সম্পূর্ণ সংস্করণ দেখার জন্য, নিচে স্ক্রল করে ‘More’ এ ক্লিক করুন।” "Pour consulter les versions complètes en français, faites défiler vers le bas et cliquez sur ‘Voir plus’.”

Paris, France; 26 November 2025: Human rights organization JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expresses its deep concern and strong condemnation over the public threats made to the defense lawyer of an accused at the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka by Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam on 23 November 2025, during a hearing concerning enforced disappearance cases.

Law Society of England and Wales Condemns Targeting of Lawyers in Bangladesh

"Pour consulter les versions complètes en français, faites défiler vers le bas et cliquez sur ‘Voir plus’.”

Paris, 22 November 2025: The Law Society of England and Wales, representing over 200,000 lawyers, has expressed grave concern over the escalating harassment and reprisals against legal professionals in Bangladesh. 

On 20 November 2025, the Society’s President, Mr. Mark Evans, sent an urgent letter to Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Honourable Chief Adviser of the Interim Government of Bangladesh; Ms. Sarah Cooke, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh; and Prof. Margaret Satterthwaite, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers (OHCHR-UNOG), Geneva.