New killings in Bangladesh leave LGBT community full of fear

(AP Photo). The Facebook page of Roopbaan magazine, a LGTB rights publication, is seen on the screen of a cell phone in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, April 28, 2016. The killing of two gay rights activists in the Bangladeshi capital has driven the count...

Posted: Apr 28, 2016 5:57 AM EDT
Updated: Apr 28, 2016 5:57 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) - The killing of two gay rights activists in the Bangladeshi capital has driven the country's already secretive and small gay community underground, wondering if they can trust a government that considers their status to be criminal, rights groups said.

Police detectives say they are working with evidence including a mobile phone, documents and witness testimony to solve the case, in which a gang of young men fatally stabbed a theater actor and the editor of Bangladesh's only LGBT rights magazine, who also worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

But with these being the latest killings in an ongoing wave of violence targeting atheist writers and outspoken moderates, members of Bangladesh's minority groups and civil society worry they're not safe, while rights group question the government's repeated claims that the situation is under control.

That fear is especially strong among members of Bangladesh's largely closeted gay community.

http://www.whdh.com/story/31837098/new-killings-in-bangladesh-leave-lgbt-community-full-of-fear