🌍 Public Statement: Urgent Update on Rising Attacks on Religious Minorities Under the Yunus Regime in Bangladesh
By: Minhaz Samad Chowdhury, Independent Human Rights Defender, Date: November 24, 2025
I have officially submitted a follow-up letter to the European Union** regarding the alarming and escalating attacks on religious and indigenous minorities in Bangladesh under the current Yunus-led interim regime. This public statement summarises the most critical points for national and international audiences.
🔥 A Dangerous Turning Point for Bangladesh’s Minorities
Since August 2024, Bangladesh has witnessed one of the worst surges in targeted violence against minorities in recent history. Reports from BHBCOP, Odhikar, and local monitors confirm:
Over 2,400 attacks on Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Adivasi communities
258 documented incidents in early 2025 alone (a 30% rise)
152+ temples vandalised since the regime took control
Multiple bomb attacks on Christian sites in Dhaka in November 2025
500+ minority families displaced** through land-grabbing
Total collapse of local protection mechanisms
Dangerous weapons are missing from state security inventories
This is not political instability—this is a human rights emergency.
🟥 Why This Is Happening
Under the Yunus regime’s unelected, centralised authority:
* Land-grabbing has accelerated under the pretext of “administrative restructuring.”
* Attacks on temples, churches, and monasteries have gone unanswered.
* Security agencies are fragmented and ineffective.
* Minority activists, lawyers, and community leaders face surveillance, threats, and arbitrary detention.
* Religious extremists previously banned have quietly returned to public activity.
This environment has emboldened perpetrators and silenced victims.
🟦 Documented Abuses and Political Violence
According to "Odhikar’s most recent reports," since August 2024:
281 people killed in political violence
40 extrajudicial killings
153 lynchings
Widespread torture, harassment, and extortion of activists
A dramatic increase in digital censorship and media restrictions
Bangladesh’s minority communities now face "institutional abandonment".
🇪🇺 Why I Wrote to the European Union Again
The EU previously acknowledged my 2023 appeal, urging visa restrictions against perpetrators of minority persecution. The new situation demands even stronger action.
My letter to:
Ursula von der Leyen (European Commission), António Costa (European Council), Roberta Metsola (European Parliament), and EEAS leadership
calls for:
✔ 1. An Urgent EU Fact-Finding Mission
To assess threats in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
✔ 2. A Strong, Public EU Statement
Condemning the violence and calling for the rule of law ahead of the February 2026 elections.
✔ 3. Targeted Visa Restrictions
Against individuals linked to:
* land-grabbing
* temple desecrations
* communal violence
* forced displacements
* persecution of activists
✔ 4. Secure Channels for HR Defenders
So minority voices can safely report verified information to the EU and election monitors.
🟩 The Stakes for Bangladesh
If action is not taken immediately:
* Entire minority communities may face irreversible displacement
* Religious identity and cultural heritage could be destroyed
* The February 2026 election may occur in an atmosphere of extremism and fear
* Bangladesh’s secular, pluralistic character may be permanently damaged
This is a decisive moment.
✒️ My Commitment
I will continue to:
* Monitor minority rights violations
* Report directly to international human rights bodies
* Support threatened families and communities
* Advocate for a rights-based, pluralistic, democratic Bangladesh
Human dignity and freedom of religion are non-negotiable.
Silence is complicity.
🙏 Thank You
Thank you to the EU leadership for their sustained attention to Bangladesh’s human rights challenges. I remain available for consultations, documentation sharing, and field coordination.
✉️ Contact:
Minhaz Samad Chowdhury
Independent Human Rights Defender
📧 [rightsmanbest@gmail.com](mailto:rightsmanbest@gmail.com)
🌐 [www.hr-defender.blogspot.com](http://www.hr-defender.blogspot.com)
X (Twitter): @McRightsman
By: Minhaz Samad Chowdhury, Independent Human Rights Defender, Date: November 24, 2025
I have officially submitted a follow-up letter to the European Union** regarding the alarming and escalating attacks on religious and indigenous minorities in Bangladesh under the current Yunus-led interim regime. This public statement summarises the most critical points for national and international audiences.
🔥 A Dangerous Turning Point for Bangladesh’s Minorities
Since August 2024, Bangladesh has witnessed one of the worst surges in targeted violence against minorities in recent history. Reports from BHBCOP, Odhikar, and local monitors confirm:
Over 2,400 attacks on Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Adivasi communities
258 documented incidents in early 2025 alone (a 30% rise)
152+ temples vandalised since the regime took control
Multiple bomb attacks on Christian sites in Dhaka in November 2025
500+ minority families displaced** through land-grabbing
Total collapse of local protection mechanisms
Dangerous weapons are missing from state security inventories
This is not political instability—this is a human rights emergency.
🟥 Why This Is Happening
Under the Yunus regime’s unelected, centralised authority:
* Land-grabbing has accelerated under the pretext of “administrative restructuring.”
* Attacks on temples, churches, and monasteries have gone unanswered.
* Security agencies are fragmented and ineffective.
* Minority activists, lawyers, and community leaders face surveillance, threats, and arbitrary detention.
* Religious extremists previously banned have quietly returned to public activity.
This environment has emboldened perpetrators and silenced victims.
🟦 Documented Abuses and Political Violence
According to "Odhikar’s most recent reports," since August 2024:
281 people killed in political violence
40 extrajudicial killings
153 lynchings
Widespread torture, harassment, and extortion of activists
A dramatic increase in digital censorship and media restrictions
Bangladesh’s minority communities now face "institutional abandonment".
🇪🇺 Why I Wrote to the European Union Again
The EU previously acknowledged my 2023 appeal, urging visa restrictions against perpetrators of minority persecution. The new situation demands even stronger action.
My letter to:
Ursula von der Leyen (European Commission), António Costa (European Council), Roberta Metsola (European Parliament), and EEAS leadership
calls for:
✔ 1. An Urgent EU Fact-Finding Mission
To assess threats in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
✔ 2. A Strong, Public EU Statement
Condemning the violence and calling for the rule of law ahead of the February 2026 elections.
✔ 3. Targeted Visa Restrictions
Against individuals linked to:
* land-grabbing
* temple desecrations
* communal violence
* forced displacements
* persecution of activists
✔ 4. Secure Channels for HR Defenders
So minority voices can safely report verified information to the EU and election monitors.
🟩 The Stakes for Bangladesh
If action is not taken immediately:
* Entire minority communities may face irreversible displacement
* Religious identity and cultural heritage could be destroyed
* The February 2026 election may occur in an atmosphere of extremism and fear
* Bangladesh’s secular, pluralistic character may be permanently damaged
This is a decisive moment.
✒️ My Commitment
I will continue to:
* Monitor minority rights violations
* Report directly to international human rights bodies
* Support threatened families and communities
* Advocate for a rights-based, pluralistic, democratic Bangladesh
Human dignity and freedom of religion are non-negotiable.
Silence is complicity.
🙏 Thank You
Thank you to the EU leadership for their sustained attention to Bangladesh’s human rights challenges. I remain available for consultations, documentation sharing, and field coordination.
✉️ Contact:
Minhaz Samad Chowdhury
Independent Human Rights Defender
📧 [rightsmanbest@gmail.com](mailto:rightsmanbest@gmail.com)
🌐 [www.hr-defender.blogspot.com](http://www.hr-defender.blogspot.com)
X (Twitter): @McRightsman


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