Paris/Dhaka, December 2025 — A France-based human rights organization has issued a strongly worded condemnation of a series of violent extremist attacks across Bangladesh, warning that the country is facing a deepening security and human rights crisis marked by state failure, impunity, and the erosion of democratic safeguards.
In a statement released on December 19, JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) said the coordinated incidents that unfolded on the night of December 18 demonstrated a “collapse of state responsibility” and posed an existential threat to Bangladesh’s democracy, religious tolerance, and the ideals of the 1971 Liberation War.
The group cited attacks on leading media outlets, cultural institutions, minority communities, diplomatic premises, and national heritage sites as evidence of an emboldened extremist campaign operating amid weak or delayed law enforcement response .
Media offices targeted in Dhaka
Among the most alarming incidents were the vandalism and arson attacks on the offices of The Daily Prothom Alo and The Daily Star at Karwan Bazar in Dhaka. According to JMBF, attackers set fire to the buildings, looted equipment, and trapped journalists inside. Fire Service personnel later rescued those inside using cranes, highlighting what the group described as a disturbing absence of timely state protection.
JMBF said the attacks were not merely acts of vandalism but a direct assault on freedom of expression and independent journalism. The reported harassment of senior journalists at the scene, including the president of the Editors’ Council, further underscored the vulnerability of media workers.
Diplomatic and cultural institutions attacked
The same night, protesters and extremist crowds attacked the Indian Assistant High Commission in Chattogram, throwing stones at the residence and clashing with police. JMBF warned that the incident violated international diplomatic norms and damaged Bangladesh’s global standing.
In Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area, attackers targeted Chhayanaut, a landmark institution associated with Bengali culture, music, and secular thought. Musical instruments, artworks, and parts of the building were vandalized and looted before sections were set on fire. JMBF described the assault as a deliberate strike against cultural resistance to extremism.
Bangabandhu Museum vandalized
Extremist mobs also attacked the remaining structures of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, the historic residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. According to the statement, parts of the structure were demolished using hammers and bulldozers while authorities failed to intervene.
JMBF said the vandalism amounted to an attack on national history, the Constitution, and the spirit of the Liberation War.
Lynching of Hindu youth shocks rights groups
The most harrowing incident cited by JMBF was the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a young Hindu man in Bhaluka, Mymensingh. He was beaten to death by a mob over allegations of blasphemy, after which his body was tied to a tree and burned. The group described the killing as a stark example of the collapse of minority protection and the normalization of mob justice.
Rights advocates say the incident reflects a broader pattern in which blasphemy allegations trigger violence, while accountability for attackers remains limited.
Calls for accountability and international action
JMBF said the incidents were not isolated but part of a coordinated extremist onslaught exploiting state inaction. The organization called for the immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of perpetrators, protection for media and cultural institutions, and public accountability from the government.
The group also urged the formation of an international investigation involving the United Nations and global human rights bodies to ensure transparent trials and justice for victims.
JMBF’s Chief Adviser, Robert Simon, said a state that fails to protect citizens, free expression, and culture “completely fails its moral and constitutional duties.” Founding President Shahanur Islam warned that the absence or delay of law enforcement during the attacks revealed a lack of political will.
Bangladesh’s authorities have not issued a consolidated response addressing all the incidents cited by JMBF. The government has previously rejected claims of systematic extremism and rights violations, often describing such events as isolated or politically motivated.
Human rights observers, however, warn that unless accountability is enforced and protection restored, extremism will continue to gain ground, further endangering journalists, minorities, and cultural life in Bangladesh.
