A U.S. embassy worker was one of two men murdered Monday evening in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital, the U.S. State Department said today.
The employee, Xulhaz Mannan, was known as a "courageous advocate for
LGBT rights," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters at a
briefing today. He was murdered in his home alongside a fellow activist,
Kirby said. Local reports say the men were hacked to death.
"Xulhaz was more than a colleague to those of us fortunate to work with
him at the U.S. Embassy," wrote Ambassador Marcia Stephens Bloom
Bernicat in a Facebook post. "He was a dear friend."
The embassy said it was a "brutal murder" that took the life of Mannan
and another person, whom Amnesty International identified as Tanay
Mojumdar.
"We abhor this senseless act of violence and urge the Government of
Bangladesh in the strongest terms to apprehend the criminals behind
these murders," Bernicat wrote.
The U.S. is "outraged" by the attack, Kirby said.
"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 of those
who knew and loved the other individual who was also brutally murdered
with him," Kirby said today. "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."[abc]
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