MP calls on UK government to address violations of religious freedom and minorities' rights in Bangladesh

Jim Shannon, a veteran Member of the UK Parliament, has urged the UK government to address the violation of religious freedom and the rights of minorities in Bangladesh.

Mr. Shannon, the Democratic Unionist Party MP for Strangford, Northern Ireland, has served as an MP since 2010. During a Question and Answer session at the UK House of Commons on January 9, 2025, he expressed serious concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in Bangladesh. He proposed that the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (UKFCDO) should raise these alarming violations of religious freedom with the Bangladeshi government.

He highlighted that Hindus and other religious minorities have faced repeated and violent attacks since the regime change in Bangladesh in 2024, affecting 20,000 people across 47 districts. Many of these attacks reportedly occurred in the presence of law enforcement agencies.

Mr. Shannon also raised concerns about the arrest of former ISKCON priest Chinmoy Krishna Das. Mr. Das was arrested on November 25, 2024, on sedition charges related to an incident where a saffron flag was allegedly hoisted above the national flag of Bangladesh during a protest rally in Chittagong on October 25, 2024. His bail plea was rejected by a court in Chattogram on January 2, 2025.

In response, the Leader of the House of Commons stated that the UK government has been very clear in its discussions with the interim government in Bangladesh about the importance of political consensus, stability, and the need for national reconciliation.

Earlier, UK MPs Preeti Patel and Barry Gardiner condemned the violence, stating that "the situation is clearly on a knife edge." Speaking in the UK Parliament on December 2, 2024, Labour MP Barry Gardiner, representing Brent West, asked the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs to make a statement on the situation in Bangladesh and the recent attacks on the Hindu community. Gardiner also raised concerns about the arrest of Hindu leader and former ISKCON priest Prabhu Chinmoy Krishna Das.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Commonwealth also warned the UK government of serious human rights violations under Bangladesh’s interim government. In a report based on individual and institutional witnesses, the APPG highlighted the severity of the situation, noting that political instability has led to over 2,000 incidents of violence.