Bangladesh: Repeated threats and attacks against lawyer and human rights defender Mohammad Alamgir
22 October 2025
Bangladeshi lawyer and human rights defender Mohammad Alamgir, Secretary General of JusticeMakers Bangladesh France (JMBF)[1], has been the target of repeated threats and attacks for over a year. These acts of intimidation are intended to silence him because of his professional activities and his commitment to fundamental rights.
Mr Mohammad Alamgir is a Bangladeshi lawyer working to protect victims of political and religious violence. He defends members of minority groups, particularly the LGBTQI+ community, who are often targeted by fundamentalist groups or extremist political factions. His public engagement and his role as a lawyer in the Bangladeshi courts have made him a prime target for intimidation.
Mr Alamgir has been the victim of numerous death threats, blackmail and physical attacks for over a year because of his professional activities and activism. These threats come mainly from individuals affiliated with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Islamist movement Jamaat-e-Islami, who blame him for defending causes they consider contrary to their ideologies.
In August 2024, Mr Alamgir was harassed by BNP supporters as he prepared to plead a sensitive case involving former political leaders. Two months later, in October 2024, he was physically assaulted in his own office by unidentified individuals linked to the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.
On 31 July 2025, the lawyer received extortion demands and explicit threats from the BNP in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Individuals visited his office in Dhaka on 22 August 2025, while he was attending an academic event in Vic-en-Bigorre (France). They made death threats against his team, warning that Mr Alamgir ‘would be eliminated’ if he continued his activities, which were deemed “contrary to religion and the government .”
These repeated attacks are aimed at silencing him and hindering his work as a lawyer, in violation of the fundamental principles of independence of the profession and protection of human rights defenders. They reflect a broader trend of intimidation and repression of lawyers involved in sensitive cases in Bangladesh.
The OIAD reiterates its unwavering support for the Bangladeshi legal profession.
The OIAD urges the Bangladeshi authorities to guarantee the safety and physical integrity of Mr Mohammad Alamgir in all circumstances.
The OIAD calls on the competent authorities to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into these threats and attacks.
The OIAD calls on the international community to closely monitor the situation and denounce the persecution of Bangladeshi human rights defenders.
The OIAD reminds the Bangladeshi State of its obligations under international law, in particular the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, notably Principle 17: “Where the security of lawyers is threatened as a result of discharging their functions, they shall be adequately safeguarded by the authorities.”
[1] Human rights and justice advocacy organisation in Bangladesh and the diaspora.
