Dhaka — February 26, 2015:

Bangladeshi-American writer and blogger Avijit Roy was hacked to death near the Amar Ekushey Book Fair on the Dhaka University campus, while his wife, writer-activist Rafida Ahmed Bonya, was critically injured. The couple was attacked by assailants wielding machetes as they left the fair in the evening.

Witnesses said the attackers dragged the pair from a rickshaw near the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) and struck them repeatedly before fleeing. Police and bystanders transported the victims to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where Roy was pronounced dead later that night.

Roy, founder of the secular platform Mukto-Mona, had received threats over his writings. He was also an LGBTIQ+ rights advocate and the author of Homosexuality (often spelled “Somokamita”), widely regarded as the first science-based Bengali book on homosexuality. His killing sparked immediate protests by writers, students, and rights groups, who called for swift arrests and measures to protect freedom of expression.

Authorities said a murder case was filed and multiple agencies were engaged to investigate, including international assistance. Subsequent statements by press-freedom organizations condemned the attack and urged accountability.