We, the undersigned human rights organizations, note with alarm the number of arrests and incidents of harassment and violence against individuals and human rights defenders exercising their right to freedom of expression in Bangladesh in the last month. Bangladesh has a history of widespread violations of the right to freedom of expression. In order to build a rights respecting future, it is essential to break from that past. While the recent attacks are not all by state actors, the government has an obligation to guarantee the right to freedom of expression in Bangladesh, which includes but is not limited to protecting people from attacks by non-state actors for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
