Paris, Jan 2 (NationPress) An esteemed global human rights organization has issued a strong denunciation of the horrific murder of a lawyer in Bangladesh by an “organised mob”, cautioning that this event highlights a troubling trend of violence aimed at legal professionals throughout the nation.

JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) reported that 35-year-old Nayem Kibria, a lawyer affiliated with the Awami League and a practicing member of the Pabna District Judge Court, had traveled to Dhaka to obtain bail from the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh regarding a “false, politically motivated, and fabricated case” against him linked to the “so-called” anti-discrimination movement of 2024.

The rights organization noted credible accounts indicating that on the evening of December 31, following a purported minor collision involving Nayem's private vehicle and a motorcycle, “a group of unidentified extremist individuals forcibly removed him from his car, subjected him to brutal and extended physical violence, vandalized his vehicle, and left him critically injured on the roadside.” He was subsequently transported to Kurmitola General Hospital in Dhaka, where he was pronounced dead by medical personnel.

Expressing deep concern, JMBF emphasized that Nayem's gruesome murder is a blatant example of organized mob violence and constitutes a severe infringement of the right to life, personal safety, and access to justice as enshrined in the Constitution of Bangladesh and international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

“The assassination of Advocate Nayem Kibria is not an isolated event. It forms a segment of a larger pattern of killings, injuries, vandalism, intimidation, and oppression orchestrated through organized mob violence under the current interim government. Such actions have reportedly transpired amidst an atmosphere of governmental inaction and silence, raising significant concerns about state accountability and impunity,” stated Robert Jean Paul Simon, Chief Advisor of JMBF and a notable French human rights advocate.

As per the JMBF report on the “Crackdown against Lawyers in Bangladesh” under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, it was documented that at least 849 lawyers across the nation have faced victimization over the last 14 months through killings, arrests, fabricated cases, and intimidation. Additionally, at least 197 individuals have reportedly lost their lives to organized mob violence in the past year, with none of the perpetrators facing justice to date.

The rights organization urged the international community, including United Nations human rights mechanisms and relevant Special Rapporteurs, to diligently monitor Nayem's case and the broader trend of mob violence and assaults against legal professionals in Bangladesh.