Senior Advocates Sound Alarm on Collapse of Justice and Rising Minority Persecution
Date: August 1, 2025
Location: Supreme Court Bar Association Hall, Dhaka
Dhaka, Bangladesh — The Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) organized a landmark seminar titled “The Human Rights Crisis in Bangladesh and Pathways to Legal Redress” at the Supreme Court Bar Association on August 1, 2025. The event, attended by senior Supreme Court advocates, human rights defenders, researchers, and community leaders, shed light on the escalating wave of violence, discrimination, and systemic injustice targeting minorities in Bangladesh.
Presided over by Supreme Court Advocate Dr. J.K. Paul, the session served as a powerful platform for exposing the ground reality of deteriorating rights and legal protection for religious and ethnic minorities. The seminar was moderated by Advocate Lucky Bacchar, Convenor of HRCBM’s Bangladesh National Chapter.
Stark Findings Presented by Advocate Lucky Bacchar
In her address, Advocate Lucky Bacchar provided a month-by-month breakdown of verified human rights violations from June and July 2025, revealing a deeply disturbing picture of widespread abuse, impunity, and systemic neglect:
🔴 June 2025
1. Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls:
Total rape cases: 58
Gang rapes: 11
Attempted gang rapes: 15
- Post-rape murders: 6
2. Communal Attacks on Minorities:
Organized mob attacks: 6
Arson attacks on minority homes: 3
Murders of minorities: 8
Abductions of minority individuals: 8
Forced displacement: 6 cases
False blasphemy accusations used to provoke violence: 8 persons targeted
🔴 July 2025
1. Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls:
Total incidents of extreme gender-based violence: 154
Gang rapes: 30
Individual rapes: 98
Attempted gang rapes: 19
Post-rape murders: 6
- Suicide following assault: 1 case
2. Communal Violence and Land Grabs:
Mob attacks, land grabs, and desecration of shrines: 9 incidents
Violent attacks, lootings, land occupation: 33 cases
Murders of minority men and women: 8
Abductions: 4
False blasphemy accusations: 4 persons targeted
Children and women abducted: 20
3. Murders of Women and Children:
Women killed: 77
Children killed: 23
4. Mob Violence Under False Pretexts:
Recorded mob lynching incidents: 34
A Glimpse of Seminar Pictures.
Testimonies from the Nation’s Legal Conscience
The seminar featured deeply emotional and sobering testimonies from some of Bangladesh’s most senior legal minds.
Advocate Z.I. Khan Panna, Senior Advocate Bangladesh Supreme Court and Freedom Fighter, declared:
“Bangladesh was born burying the two-nation theory. There is no room for communalism here. But today, I feel like the biggest minority—I wear the garland of shoes as a freedom fighter and cannot act. That is how helpless we have become.”
His voice broke into tears as he urged those who still hold the spirit of the Liberation War to rise against today’s injustices.
Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, Senior Supreme Court Advocate and Freedom Fighter noted:
“Minorities in Bangladesh have lost access to both fundamental rights and judicial recourse. Even when perpetrators are caught, they are quietly released. Justice is neither swift nor assured.”
Advocate Suman Kumar Roy, Bangladesh Supreme Court emphasized that:
“All successive governments have failed to protect minorities. Under the current interim regime, the neglect is even more evident. When attacks occur in places like Rangpur, the silence from the authorities is deafening.”
He condemned the recent arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, calling it a politically motivated attempt to suppress the voices of the Sanatani community.
Advocate Manzil Morshed, President of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), Senior Advocate of Bangladdesh Supreme Court:
“Even within the Supreme Court, the justice system is now in despair. Lawyers no longer feel safe inside the courtroom. The institution meant to uphold justice is now failing its own defenders.”
He issued a solemn warning to the judiciary:
“If the justices of the Supreme Court do not act now to repair this broken system, they risk suffering the same fate as former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha. If this remains the state of our judiciary, the human rights crisis in Bangladesh will only become more dire.”
During the seminar, Senior Advocate of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, Advocate Gulam Mostofa, delivered a sobering reflection:
“What we are witnessing today is not merely a human rights crisis—it is a crisis of the state itself. The state is no longer neutral; it is actively fostering mob justice and deepening the subjugation of minorities.
Before we are members of any caste, creed, or religion—we are human beings. That fundamental truth is being buried beneath fear and silence.
The person who now holds the reins of power once wrote a book titled Pother Badha Sareya Din, Manush Ke Agute Din (‘Remove the obstacles from the path, let humanity move forward’)—a vision penned by Dr. Muhammad Yunus.
Yet today, it is not the obstacles but the state itself that stands in our way. We are not simply being held back—we are being silenced, unable even to discuss the question of rights.”
At the close of the seminar, Advocate Dr. J.K. Paul—Senior Advocate of the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court and Chairperson of the event—delivered a compelling and sobering address.
As Head of HRCBM’s Legal Panel in Bangladesh, he spoke with clarity and conviction about the enduring plight of minorities and the dangerous normalization of persecution across the country.
Dr. Paul warned that what was once sporadic violence has now metastasized into a sustained campaign of marginalization, abductions, and impunity, eroding both justice and national conscience.
“The situation has degenerated into something far more alarming,” he stated. “The state is not merely failing to act—it is enabling silence. Right-wing extremist forces now freely use owaz mahfils and public address systems to incite violence. They openly announce attacks on minorities through loudspeakers, and the authorities look the other way. This silence is complicity.”
He praised the relentless efforts of HRCBM’s leaders and volunteers, acknowledging their courageous documentation of abuses and unwavering advocacy in defense of the vulnerable.
“HRCBM is not only bearing witness—it is resisting injustice at the frontlines. It must now evolve into a powerful institutional platform, capable of challenging impunity through law, advocacy, and global partnerships.”
Dr. Paul concluded by expressing hope that HRCBM will rise to become a national and international legal force for justice, protection, and systemic change.
HRCBM’s Call to Action
In light of the findings and testimonies, HRCBM has proposed the following measures:
Establishment of independent and impartial investigations into gender-based violence and communal attacks.
Legislative reform to criminalize the misuse of blasphemy allegations.
Restitution and protection for forcibly displaced minority families.
Special tribunals to fast-track justice for victims of communal and gendered violence.
Monitoring of digital hate speech and organized misinformation campaigns.
A Nation on the Brink
HRCBM Founder & President Dhiman Deb Chowdhury, in a post-event statement, issued a powerful appeal:
“We cannot wait for another tragedy to act. The silence of the state and society will only encourage more violence, more dispossession, and more despair. Bangladesh must choose justice over fear—and the world must not look away.”
