Gay Activist Hacked to Death in Bangladesh
Above is video of slain activist Xulhaz Mannan enjoying himself in Nepal.
Two persons including the editor of Roopbaan, the country’s first ever LGBT magazine, have been hacked to death at a flat in capital’s Kalabagan.
The deceased are Xulhaz Mannan, 35, and his friend Tanay Mojumdar.
Abdul Baten, deputy commissioner of Ramna division police, told the Dhaka Tribune that Mannan was a cousin of former foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni.
The incident took place on the second floor of a six-storey building in Kalabagan around 5pm Monday.
DC Baten said armed assailants in guise of courier company officials entered the flat and killed the duo.
Parvez, 18, security guard of the house, told the Dhaka Tribune that five to six youths identifying themselves as courier company officials came to the house around 5pm mentioning that they have brought some parcel for Xulhaz.
He said: “But half an hour later, I heard shouting and shooting sound from the flat and went to look into the incident.”
“The assailants then attacked me with knives,” said Parvez with heavy wounds on his eye.
He is now undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Another security guard Sumon, who was also present at the time, said the killers were wearing blue T-shirt and everyone had a bag on their shoulder.
He said one domestic help and Xulhaz’s mother were also present at the time of the incident.
According to eyewitness, the killers while going out of the house chanting “Naraye Takbir, Allahu Akbar.”
One of the killers had pistol in his hand.
From Dhaka Tribune.
Xulhaz Mannan’s magazine @roopbaan is named after the Bengali folk character Roopbaan symbolising the power of love.
Activists in Dhaka are reportedly going offline and relocating in reaction to the murder.
Some hideous American reaction to his death I picked up from Twitter:
Now the exgays are kicking Xulhaz’s dead body to see what they can get out of it. Vile. Fuck off. https://t.co/xoOfXKUyIo
— Paul Canning (@pauloCanning) April 25, 2016
And more from Twitter.
The decent and hard working people of Bangladesh deserve better than islamists and thugs https://t.co/sJXj4BGxJh
— Aboud Dandachi (@AboudDandachi) April 25, 2016
‘love …, a human right that can’t be denied. Xulhaz Mannan #Bangladesh #speakingout #LGBTI https://t.co/dyAKKYuugm pic.twitter.com/WEboc6dHSw
— Kaleidoscope Trust (@Kaleidoscope_T) November 24, 2015
Avijit wrote a book on homosexuality; Dipon published that book; Xulhaz edited a LGBT magazine. They are now dead: Gay rights in #Bangladesh
— Tasneem Khalil (@tasneem) April 25, 2016
No words. RIP Xulhaz pic.twitter.com/Re4MU6ReWg
— Paul Canning (@pauloCanning) April 25, 2016
The gay activist hacked to death 2day in Bangladesh was Xulhaz Mannan, here receiving an award from Dhaka US Embassy pic.twitter.com/0YIzHtobaa
— Paul Canning (@pauloCanning) April 25, 2016