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In 2025, at least 197 people were killed in mob attacks, up from 128 in 2024, according to ASK. During the interim government’s tenure, at least 293 people were killed in mob violence, it said.

Victims included men, women, religious minorities and marginalised groups. ASK also documented incidents where freedom fighters, members of the Baul community and others were humiliated, assaulted and publicly abused.

It appears that a change in state power has failed to bring the desired improvement in the overall human rights situation, ASK said in a press statement yesterday.

“Instead, longstanding patterns of repression have continued in new forms, allowing authoritarian practices, lack of accountability and discriminatory conduct to persist unchecked. As a result, the human rights situation has been assessed as broadly unstable and deeply concerning,” it added.

Meanwhile, MSF recorded 428 incidents of lynching that killed 166 people in 2025.

One of the most shocking incidents occurred on December 18 in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, when garment worker Dipu Chandra Das was beaten and burnt to death over false allegations of blasphemy.

There were at least 42 attacks on the Hindu community in 2025, affecting 33 homes, according to ASK. These included 36 arson incidents, attacks on four temples, vandalism of 64 idols and nine cases of land grabbing. One person was killed and at least 15 were injured.

ASK said groups identifying themselves as “tawhidi janata” were involved in vandalising historically significant sites and centres of art and culture and harassing women and dissenters.

During this period, various statues and monuments related to Bangladesh’s history, including the Liberation War, were vandalised and defaced.

These acts constitute a serious insult to the national symbols deeply connected to the Bengali identity, Bangladesh’s Liberation War and its independence, ASK said.

Although political activities were relatively limited in early 2025, internal feuds and violence escalated as the election approached, with groups seeking to assert dominance.

ASK recorded at least 401 incidents of political violence, leaving 102 people dead and 4,744 injured.

MSF documented 599 incidents of political violence affecting 5,604 people. Of them, 86 were killed and 5,518 were injured, including 97 who sustained gunshot wounds.

After the election date was announced, MSF recorded 26 incidents related to nominations and campaigning. Three were killed and 249 were injured in these incidents.

Inqilab Moncho Spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi was shot dead a day after the Election Commission announced the election schedule.

Both organisations said 2025 was a deeply troubling year for media freedom.

MSF recorded 289 incidents affecting 641 journalists, including one killing, injuries, threats and legal harassment. It also cited the continued use of the Cyber Security Act and ordinance to file cases against journalists.

ASK recorded harassment or abuse of at least 381 journalists. Of them, 123 faced legal cases, 118 were physically attacked, 20 received death threats and 23 were targeted by law enforcement. Three journalists were killed, while the bodies of four others were recovered under mysterious circumstances.

Media freedom came under severe threat on December 18, when mobs attacked, looted and set fire to the offices of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo. New Age Editor Nurul Kabir was also harassed. Fire service operations were obstructed, and both newspapers were forced to suspend print and online editions for one day.

On the same day, cultural institution Chhayanaut was also attacked. ASK described the incidents as a dark chapter in the history of press freedom in Bangladesh.

Deaths in custody and allegations of extrajudicial killings remained major concerns.

ASK documented at least 38 extrajudicial killings in 2025, all occurring in law enforcement custody, reportedly during “crossfire” or “gunfights”.

MSF recorded 19 incidents of gunfights that left 22 people dead. Twelve of those deaths occurred during joint forces operations led by the army.

In prisons, MSF documented 116 deaths, mostly attributed to illness, but also noted cases of suicide, torture and unexplained deaths.

ASK recorded at least 107 deaths in prisons, including 69 undertrial prisoners and 38 convicts. Dhaka Central Jail reported the highest number of deaths at 38.

As many as 641 unidentified bodies were recovered this year, many with hands and feet bound with scotch tape, lying by roadsides, stuffed in sacks, floating in rivers, or recovered from railway tracks and canals, MSF said.

Violence against women remained widespread. ASK recorded 749 rape cases, including 569 gang rapes. At least 370 victims were under 18. After rape, 36 women were killed, seven died by suicide and six died after attempted rape.

Children were also severely affected. ASK recorded abuse of 1,023 children and the deaths of at least 410 children due to rape, murder, physical abuse, abduction, suicide and explosions.

Meanwhile, along the Bangladesh–India border, at least 34 Bangladeshi died in 2025, including 24 from BSF gunfire, according to ASK.

Presenting its findings at a press briefing at the Dhaka Reporters Unity yesterday, MSF called for an independent commission to investigate serious human rights violations, stronger protection for journalists and minorities, reforms in policing and prisons, and greater empowerment of the National Human Rights Commission.

ASK echoed similar concerns, saying the government must uphold universally accepted human rights standards in line with public expectations.