293 killed in mob attacks in Bangladesh since Yunus took over: Rights group

Dhaka: A leading human rights organisation in Bangladesh highlighted widespread rights abuses across the country, including mob violence, extrajudicial killings, deaths in custody, minority persecution, killings in political violence, and suppression of press freedom, local media reported on Wednesday.

In its latest report, Dhaka-based Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) revealed that “mob terrorism” has increased at an alarming rate throughout 2025.

As per the findings, mob violence claimed 197 lives from January to December in comparison to 128 deaths last year.

Since the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government assumed office in 2024, the report said, at least 293 people have been killed in mob violence.

“People have been beaten and killed without any evidence, investigation or legal process, by creating suspicion and rumours. In the name of the Tawheed Janata, mobs have been illegally formed to vandalise art and cultural centres, attack the Baul community — and even burn bodies from graves. There have been incidents of harassment of people of opposing views, including freedom fighters,” Bangladeshi Bengali daily Prothom Alo quoted the rights body as saying.

According to the statement, in many of these incidents, the law enforcement agencies failed to act, and efforts to bring perpetrators to justice were largely absent.

The report said that at least 107 people died in various prisons across the country in 2025, including 69 inmates and 38 prisoners. Among the prisons across the country, Dhaka Central Jail recorded the highest number of deaths with 38, followed by Gazipur with 7, while the remaining fatalities occurred in other prisons across the country.

Additionally, at least 38 people were killed in extrajudicial killings in 2025, as reported by the monitoring of the Information Protection Unit of ASK.

These deaths, the rights body said, occurred in the custody of law enforcement agencies, under torture, in the name of alleged ‘shootouts’ or ‘gunfights’ — reflecting an ongoing human rights crisis.

ASK revealed that between January and December 2025, Bangladesh witnessed at least 401 incidents of political violence, claiming 102 lives and injuring 4,744 people.

The report further stated that at least 381 journalists faced torture and harassment during the same period, with 23 journalists targeted by law enforcement agencies and 20 receiving death threats.

Highlighting the atrocities on minorities across Bangladesh, especially Hindus, ASK documented several violent incidents, including attacks, intimidation, looting, arson and vandalism of idols between January and December 2025.

This year alone, the report said, there were at least 42 attacks targeting Hindus, resulting in the damage of 33 houses, 36 houses set on fire, attacks on four temples, vandalism of 64 idols, and nine land-grabbing incidents.

Bangladesh has been gripped by escalating human rights abuses and persistent attacks on minorities, particularly the Hindu community, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.

IANS