Bangladesh: Stop punishing students for who they are
Campaign content
When a student walks into class, they should be thinking about their future, not whether a classmate will report them to the administration for who they are.
At Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University in Bangladesh, that fear is real. In May 2026, university authorities expelled four students and handed two others directly to police, not for harming anyone, but on allegations of being gay. The university proctor announced a "zero tolerance" policy against what he called "social degradation." Students lost their academic standing, their dormitory places, and their liberty before any investigation was completed.
Since January 2026, a documented pattern of arrests, mob attacks, and institutional persecution has spread across Bangladesh. At a Dhaka Unani medical college, a student was coerced into naming other gay students; five people, including four students, were subsequently imprisoned by a mobile court and stripped of their accommodation. Transgender people gathering peacefully in Dhaka were violently attacked; when a complaint was filed, police refused to act. Two women who wanted to live together as partners were taken into custody after a family complaint and sent to jail.
In every case, no one harmed another person. People were punished for a private relationship or personal identity. Under Section 377 of the Penal Code – a colonial-era law – consensual same-sex relationships are a criminal offence in Bangladesh, providing the legal basis for arrests and imprisonment. But many of these cases go further: universities expelling students before any investigation, police coercing people into naming others, authorities treating mob violence as no crime at all. The law enables persecution; institutions are choosing to extend it.
Bangladesh's constitution guarantees equality before the law and the right to personal liberty. International law protects privacy, dignity, and equal treatment. Those protections are not being applied.
Sign to call on authorities to reinstate expelled students, release those imprisoned for consensual relationships, and put real protection for LGBT+ people into law.
We are concerned about a serious and escalating pattern of human rights violations against LGBT+ people in Bangladesh, including on university campuses.
Since January 2026, documented incidents include: two young men detained and handed to police by university staff at Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU) in Dinajpur; a student at a Dhaka Uniani medical college subjected to coercive interrogation to force him to name other gay students, followed by five people being imprisoned through a mobile court and stripped of student accommodation; the violent mob attack on transgender people gathered peacefully in Dhaka in April, after which police refused to register a complaint from the victims; two women sent to jail following family complaints about their consensual relationship; and the expulsion of four HSTU students and the handing of two further students to police in May 2026.
In each case, no harm to another person was alleged. People were detained, expelled, or imprisoned because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This violates Articles 27, 31, and 32 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, which guarantee equality before the law, the right to legal protection, and personal liberty. It also violates Bangladesh's obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protect the right to privacy, dignity, and freedom from discrimination.
We call on you to:
– Immediately reinstate the academic rights of students expelled or suspended at HSTU and other institutions on the basis of sexual orientation;
– Withdraw charges and secure the release of individuals imprisoned for consensual same-sex relationships;– Investigate the use of coercive interrogation to force students to identify other LGBT+ students;
– Ensure that police register complaints from LGBT+ people who are victims of violence, and investigate those responsible for the April attack in Dhaka;
– Adopt clear policies protecting LGBT+ students in all educational institutions from harassment, arbitrary disciplinary action, and unlawful disclosure of their identities; and, as a necessary longer-term step,
– Repeal of Section 377 of the Penal Code, which criminalizes consensual same-sex relationships and provides the legal basis for these persecutions.
Educational institutions have a duty to protect all students equally. The conduct described above – universities functioning as instruments of moral policing, police penalizing victims rather than perpetrators, courts imposing imprisonment for private consensual relationships – is incompatible with Bangladesh's constitutional and international commitments.
We urge you to act.
Aug. 12, 2026
Bangladesh: the crackdown on LGBT+ students is spreading
Aug. 12, 2026
Bangladesh: the crackdown on LGBT+ students is spreading
Bangladesh's escalation against LGBT+ students is extending: a University of Dhaka student and a young visitor were detained over alleged same-sex messages, searched, and handed to police. The student was permanently expelled. An intern doctor at Chattogram Medical College Hospital was publicly boycotted by his own colleagues and reported to hospital leadership for "exemplary punishment," based on messages found on his phone. Two first-year students at the University of Dhaka were forced out of their dorm in front of their families, before anyone investigated the claims against them. In each case, university staff, not courts, decided guilt and handed down punishment on suspicion alone. Bangladesh's constitution guarantees personal liberty and equal treatment under the law. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Home Affairs can stop this. They need to hear from more people now.
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