Editor of Bangladesh queer magazine hacked to death

Xulhaz Mannan, 35, the editor of Bangladesh’s first and only queer magazine, was hacked to death Monday in the latest in a series of attacks targeting atheists, moderates and foreigners. The journalist was killed by a gang posing as messengers, who then gained access to his apartment, police told U.K. newspaper The Guardian.

Xuhlaz was an advocate who also worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development. He edited the only queer magazine in Bangadesh, Roopbaan, which launched in 2014 “to promote greater acceptance of LGBT communities in Bangladesh.”

On Monday, six people entered the building and killed Mannan and a friend of his, Tanay Majumder. Two more were injured in the attack. There has been a series of killings of bloggers and activists in the country, The Guardian reports.

Bangladesh has seen a slew of deadly attacks on foreigners, religious minorities and secular bloggers, raising fears that religious extremists are gaining a foothold in the country, despite its traditions of secularism and tolerance. It’s also notable that homosexual relations are considered a crime under Bangladeshi law, making it harder for gay activists to report any threats against them.

Marcia Bernicat, the U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh, told the U.K. paper she was “devastated by the brutal murder of Xulhaz Mannan and another young Bangladeshi.”