Xulhaz Mannan
Xulhaz Mannan was a prominent LGBTI defender and Senior Editor of Roopbaan, Bangladesh’s first LGBT magazine, launched in 2014. The magazine aims to promote wider tolerance of people of diverse sexual orientations by people in Bangladesh. Xulhaz Mannan also worked for USAID at the time of incident. Previously the human rights defender had spent seven years as a Protocol Officer at the United States Embassy in Bangladesh. On 25 April 2016, human rights defenders Mr Xulhaz Mannan and his friend Mr Mahbub Tonoy were killed by a group of unidentified men in their apartment in Kalabagan area, Dhaka.
Human rights defenders (HRDs) in Bangladesh endure judicial harassment, arbitrary arrest, fabricated charges, abduction, physical attacks, torture and extrajudicial killings. Human rights violations against HRDs are committed by both state and non-state actors including corporations, impunity remains one of the most serious issues of concern, particularly as fatal attacks on human rights defenders and journalsits become increasingly common.
