A disturbing new report released by the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) claims that at least 123 members of Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League and its affiliated organisations have been victims of targeted killings under the interim government led by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus.
The report, titled “Bangladesh: Organised murder for membership to the Awami League and its affiliate organisations”, spans the period between August 5, 2024 and April 30, 2025 and alleges that the killings were politically motivated, often carried out in brutal fashion.
According to the RRAG, 41 Awami League workers were reportedly hacked to death or had their throats slit in a "Taliban-style" manner, while 21 others died while in government custody. The report asserts that children, women, the mentally ill and even disabled individuals were not spared in the campaign of violence.
“These murders are just the tip of the iceberg, as not all incidents were reported in local media. Our team also faced severe limitations in monitoring every corner of Bangladesh,” said Suhas Chakma, Director of the RRAG.
The report highlights several chilling cases, including:
On December 17, 2024, Mohammed Masud Rana and 12-year-old Mohd Rian, a fifth-grade student, were allegedly murdered in Nachol, Chapaiganj, for having posted a “Joy Bangla” slogan on Facebook months earlier.
On December 5, 2024, Arina Begum was reportedly hacked to death while offering Namaaz in her home because her son was a hiding Chhatra League president.
On September 19, 2024, a mentally unstable Chhatra League member named Tofazzal was killed by a student mob at Dhaka University.
On September 8, 2024, Abdullah Al Masud, a former Chhatra League leader from Rajshahi University who used a prosthetic leg after surviving political violence in 2014, was beaten to death while buying medicine.
On August 13, 2024, Babar Ali, an Awami League worker from Bogura, was allegedly abducted and killed by throat-slitting.
Chakma accused political groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, along with the interim administration, of creating a climate that encouraged political vendetta.
“The banning of the Chhatra League and later the Awami League itself, created a justification for these acts of violence with complete impunity,” he said.
The RRAG report also alleges that the interim government granted blanket immunity to those responsible for violence during the July-August 2024 uprising, even in the killing of 44 policemen. It claims that over 1,400 people were killed during this period and many families of victims were too afraid to testify before the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
RRAG described the killings as “crimes against humanity”, committed both by state and non-state actors.
The report holds Dr Muhammad Yunus, Adviser for Home Affairs Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and even former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, accountable under the doctrine of command responsibility as per Article 28 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The RRAG has announced plans to file a formal complaint with the ICC, drawing parallels between the situation in Bangladesh and post-election violence in Kenya (2007-2008), which the ICC had previously investigated.
The RRAG is also taking the issue to British authorities, just ahead of Yunus’ visit to the United Kingdom from June 10–13, where he is expected to receive the Harmony Award 2025 from King Charles III. The group alleges that honoring Yunus amid such grave allegations could send a problematic signal to the international community.
The interim government has not yet officially responded to the RRAG’s claims. However, the report is expected to spark significant political and diplomatic debate in the days ahead.
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