Dhaka, Bangladesh – 1 August 2025 – Under torrential rain and quiet resistance, a landmark seminar convened by the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) filled the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association Hall to capacity, laying bare an alarming escalation of violence against women, children and religious minorities.

The forum—chaired by Dr. J.K. Paul, Senior Advocate of the Appellate Division and Head of HRCBM’s Legal Panel—featured leading jurists, rights advocates, researchers, journalists and, crucially, victims themselves. First-hand accounts of abduction, sexual assault, land seizure and mob attacks were presented alongside field-verified statistics gathered by HRCBM investigators.

Key Findings (June–July 2025)
Gender-based violence: 156 rapes and gang rapes; 12 murders following assault; one suicide.

Murders: 77 women and 23 children killed in July alone.

Minority persecution: 42 violent incidents targeting homes, temples and land; 12 forced conversions; 28 abductions.

Child abductions: 34 documented cases in July.

“This is no longer merely a human-rights crisis—it is a crisis of the state,” declared Advocate Gulam Mostafa, Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court. “Extremists now use owaz mahfils and public address systems to announce attacks, while authorities remain silent.”

Noted freedom fighter and Supreme Court veteran Advocate Z.I. Khan Panna broke down mid-address, describing a justice system “unable to shield the vulnerable it was built to protect.”

A Continuum of Persecution
Speakers stressed that violence against minorities has recurred across eras—late colonial rule, the East Pakistan period and independent Bangladesh—eroding the plural vision of the 1971 Liberation War. HRCBM’s legal brief connects these patterns to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Articles 6 & 7), emphasising the need for impartial investigation into potential genocidal and crimes-against-humanity acts.

Immediate Calls to Action
Independent investigations free of political interference.

Special tribunals to fast-track cases of rape, murder, abduction and mob lynching.

Legal reforms to end misuse of false blasphemy and forced-conversion tactics.

Protection and restitution for displaced families and destroyed places of worship.

International oversight to ensure Bangladesh meets its human-rights obligations.

Dhiman Deb Chowdhury, President, HRCBM:
“We cannot wait for another tragedy. No more temples felled, no more children vanished, no more victims unheard. The world must not turn its back—and the state must no longer look away.”

Resources for Media and Researchers
Full seminar video, photographs and speaker materials:
https://www.hrcbm.org/wp-new/hrcbm-seminar-at-supreme-court-unveils-alarming-human-rights-crisis-in-bangladesh/

Press kit (on request): high-resolution images, anonymised testimony summaries, data tables.

Interview opportunities: senior advocates, HRCBM leadership and, with consent, victim witnesses.

About HRCBM
The Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) is a registered NGO in Bangladesh and a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Holding UN ECOSOC Special Consultative Status and membership in the NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (ICC), HRCBM has documented abuses, provided legal aid and advanced national and international advocacy for more than two decades.