The United States has expressed outrage over the "barbaric" murder of a USAID employee who was the editor of Bangladesh's only LGBT rights magazine, and pledged its support to authorities to ensure capture of the culprits involved.
"We're outraged by the barbaric attack on Xulhaz Mannan, a beloved member of our embassy family and a courageous advocate for LGBT rights -- human rights, actually," State Department spokesperson John Kirby said.
Mannan, the editor of Roopban - the only magazine in Bangladesh advocating gay rights, and his friend Tanay Fahim were murdered at the flat in Dhaka's Kalabagan yesterday.
The 35-year-old was an ex-protocol officer of the US embassy and cousin of former Bangladesh foreign minister Dipu Moni.
"An act like this simply is beyond words, unjustifiable, inexcusable and our heartfelt condolences of course go out to his mother, to his family, to his friends and to his colleagues, as well as all those who knew and loved the other individual who was also brutally murdered with him," Kirby said.
"As we mourn his death, we celebrate Xulhaz's life and everything he contributed to Bangladesh, to the United States and to the global struggle for human rights and dignity, and we pledge our support to Bangladeshi authorities to ensure that the cowards who did this are held accountable," he said.
Bangladesh, he said, is proud of its history as a moderate, tolerant and inclusive society that values the diversity of its people, culture and religions, and this attack fundamentally seeks to undermine all that the country stands for and all that its people have strived to bring about in recent years.
In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists also condemned the murder and critiqued the Bangladesh government for "doing little" to ensure safety of at-risk groups.
"Authorities must immediately investigate the murder, and bring the perpetrators to justice," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator.
"Journalists and intellectuals are under attack in Bangladesh and the government has done little to end the murderous mayhem or to ensure the safety of at-risk groups," he said.
There have been systematic assaults in Bangladesh in recent months specially targeting minorities, secular bloggers, intellectuals and foreigners.
The killings came two days after the grisly murder of liberal university professor Rezaul Karim Siddiquee in the northern Rajshahi city. The attack was claimed by the ISIS.
Earlier this month, law student Nazimuddin Samad, who posted comments against radical Islamists on Facebook, was hacked by machete-wielding militants before being shot dead from close range in Dhaka.
Last year, four prominent secular bloggers were killed with machetes, one inside his own home.
