BANGLADESH: JMBF Statement on the Occasion of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2025

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Paris, France; 9 August 2025: Today, 9 August 2025, the United Nations–declared International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is being observed across the globe. This year’s theme — “Indigenous Peoples and Artificial Intelligence: Protecting Rights, Building the Future” — serves as a reminder that no matter how far technology advances, protecting the lives, security, and rights of indigenous peoples must remain a top priority.

Bangladesh is home to more than 50 small ethnic communities who have preserved their culture, language, and traditions for centuries. Yet, these diverse communities continue to suffer from violence, land grabbing, forced evictions, sexual assaults, and impunity. The reality is that even after one year in power, the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus — which had pledged to end “discrimination and deprivation” — has shown no visible improvement in the human rights situation of indigenous peoples.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Concerned and Strongly Condemns the Murder of Journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin in Gazipur

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Paris, France; 8 August 2025: The France-based human rights organization JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expresses its deep concern, strong condemnation, and outrage over the brutal hacking to death of Protidiner Kagoj’s Gazipur staff reporter, Asaduzzaman Tuhin, in the Chandna Chowrasta area of Gazipur city on the night of Thursday, 7 August 2025. JMBF considers this incident a naked assault on press freedom and a blatant violation of human rights.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Concerned Over Persecution and Expulsion of LGBTQ+ Students at DUET

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Paris, France; August 7, 2025: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expresses deep concern over the incident at Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology (DUET), Gazipur, where seven students were detained and tortured in their dormitories on July 19, 2025, merely on the accusation of being sexual minorities—specifically homosexual—and were subsequently temporarily expelled from their dorms on July 22 and 24 by the university administration.

JMBF condemns this horrific discriminatory act and violation of personal privacy rights at DUET, which contravenes the Constitution of Bangladesh, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other international human rights treaties.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Concerned Over Mass Expulsion & Certificate Cancellation at Jahangirnagar University Without Due Process

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Paris, France | 05 August 2025: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBB), a France-based international human rights organization, expresses its deep concern, strong condemnation, and protest regarding the decision by Jahangirnagar University (JU) authorities to expel 64 students permanently, suspend 46 others for varying durations, and permanently revoke the academic certificates of 73 former students, while suspending the certificates of 6 others for two years. These actions were taken without granting the accused students any opportunity to defend themselves, in connection with their alleged involvement in attacks during the student uprising from 14 to 17 July last year.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Concerned Over Arbitrary Arrest of 5 Lawyers and Fabricated Cases Against 12 in Barguna, Satkhira, Gazipur, Bogura, and Gopalganj

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Paris, France; 01 August 2025: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), a France-based human rights organization, expresses its deep concern and strong protest over the recent politically motivated and arbitrary arrests and detention of five respected lawyers, as well as the filing of false cases against twelve others in various districts of Bangladesh—namely Barguna, Satkhira, Gazipur, Bogura, and Gopalganj—solely for carrying out their professional duties and holding differing political opinions.

JMBF firmly believes that targeting lawyers solely because of their professional conduct or political beliefs constitutes a clear and blatant violation of the fundamental human rights enshrined by the United Nations.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Concerned Over Communal Attack on Hindu Minority Community in Gangachara, Rangpur

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Paris, France; July 28, 2025: Justice Makers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expresses deep concern and strong condemnation over the communal attack on the Hindu religious minority community in Aldatpur village, Betgari Union, Gangachara Upazila, Rangpur district.

The violence that occurred in Rangpur on July 26 and 27, 2025, triggered by a teenager’s Facebook post about the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), is not only against the rule of law but also a grave violation of religious tolerance and human rights.

It is absolutely unacceptable that the houses, honor, and security of a community were looted due to a teenager’s social media post. JMBF believes this brutal and premeditated attack is a blatant display of communal extremism.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Concerned Over the Brutal Killing of Gay Man Rafiqul Islam in Gazipur

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Paris, France; 26 July 2025: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), a Paris-based human rights organization, expresses grave concern and strongly condemns the premeditated and brutal murder of Mr. Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, a gay man, in Gazipur on the night of 19 July 2025.

JMBF firmly believes that the deliberate killing of Rafiqul Islam solely based on his sexual orientation constitutes a gross violation of fundamental human rights and human dignity.

BANGLADESH ALERT: Arrest of Former Chief Justice A. B. M. Khairul Haque — A Direct Blow to Judicial Independence

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Paris, France; July 25, 2025 — JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), a France-based human rights organization, expresses deep concern and strong protest over the arrest of Bangladesh’s former Chief Justice A. B. M. Khairul Haque on July 24, 2025, from Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area, on charges related to a murder during last year’s July coup, and the absence of any legal representation on his behalf in court.

JMBF firmly believes that the filing of a politically motivated murder case and the arrest of a former Chief Justice—who solely performed his judicial duties per the Constitution—constitutes a blatant violation of judicial independence, fundamental principles of justice, and the rule of law.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Strongly Condemns and Expresses Deep Concern Over the Death of Jubo Dal Leader Asif Shikder Due to Torture by Joint Forces in Dhaka

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Paris, France; July 24, 2025: France-based human rights organization JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expresses its profound concern and strong condemnation over the death of Asif Shikder, a leader of the Jubo Dal’s Ward No. 93 unit, who died on Monday, July 21, 2025, in Mirpur, Dhaka, as a result of inhumane torture in the custody of joint forces.

JMBF firmly believes that the killing of Jubo Dal leader Asif Shikder at the hands of joint forces constitutes a gross violation of human rights and sends a horrifying message regarding the state of democracy, justice, and the rule of law in Bangladesh.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Expresses Deep Concern Over the Bloody Suppression of Peaceful Student Movement in Dhaka

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Paris, France; July 23, 2025: The France-based human rights organization Justicemakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expresses its deep concern, strong condemnation, and protest over the brutal assault by police and military forces on peaceful and unarmed students on July 22, 2025, in front of the Secretariat and in Gulistan, Dhaka. The students were attacked with batons, sound grenades, and tear gas, injuring over a hundred.

Additionally, on July 21, at Uttara Milestone School and College in Dhaka, a military jet crash reportedly died a huge number of students, teachers, and staff. While speaking to the media about the number of casualties, several students—including the school principal—were violently assaulted by members of the Bangladesh army.

BANGLADESH ALERT: JMBF Deeply Concerned Over Arbitrary Arrests of 5 Respected Lawyers in Naogaon, Rangpur, Patuakhali, Manikganj, and Moulvibazar; Demands Immediate Release!

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Paris, France; 22 July 2025: JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expresses its deep concern over the recent arbitrary and unjust arrests of lawyers in Bangladesh. The growing trend of filing false cases, implicating lawyers in politically motivated charges, and denying them bail—leading to imprisonment—is a grave threat to professional independence. These actions constitute a clear violation of the Constitution of Bangladesh, international human rights laws, and the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.

JMBF firmly believes that lawyers are fundamental pillars in upholding the rule of law and ensuring justice in a democratic society.

The Relentless Defender: How Advocate Shahanur Islam Became the Conscience of Bangladesh’s Legal Resistance

In the shadows of courtrooms and far from the glow of headlines, one man continues to risk his life for the rule of law. Advocate Shahanur Islam, a veteran Bangladeshi human rights lawyer, has spent the last two decades challenging a legal system plagued by corruption, police brutality, and discrimination. Now living in exile, his voice echoes louder than ever through legal reports, international appeals, and grassroots activism.

The Making of a Maverick

Born in northern Bangladesh, Islam's journey to law was not one of privilege, but of purpose. By his late twenties, he had already founded the JusticeMakers Bangladesh (JMBD) and later the international platform JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF). Through these initiatives, he began documenting torture, false arrests, and violence against vulnerable communities.

“Justice isn’t just an idea—it’s a fight,” Islam says. “And it’s a fight we cannot afford to lose.”

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.