Bangladeshi gay rights activists Xulhaz Mannan and a friend, Tanay "Tonoy" Mojumdar, were hacked to death April 25 by five or six unidentified men disguised as couriers delivering a package.
The suspects remain at large.
Mannan's mother and a maid witnessed the incident. Both survived the attack.
Mohammed Parvez, 18, one of two security guards at Mannan's building, was injured and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.
Mannan, 35, worked for the United States Agency for International Development, Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement about the killings on Monday, and he was formerly a protocol officer at the U.S. Embassy, according to media reports.
"Xulhaz ... was a trusted colleague, a beloved friend, and advocate for human rights and dignity in Bangladesh," said Kerry. "In many ways, he embodied the spirit of the people of Bangladesh and the pride with which they guard their traditions of tolerance, peace, and diversity."
Mannan was also the co-founder of Bangladesh's first LGBT magazine, Roopbaan, and the annual Rainbow Rally held on the Bengali New Year.
The volunteer-run magazine and rally were launched in January 2014. The magazine was named after a Bengali folk character, Roopbaan, who symbolizes the power of love, and was published only in Bangla, founding editors of the magazine said at its invitation-only launch party.
"The main reason for this publication is to promote love," said an unidentified member of the editorial team at the time of the magazine's launch, reported the Dhaka Tribune. "Promoting love and promoting the right to love. The audience for love is huge and that's who this is for."
Mannan and his friend's death happened on the same day the White House launched its fifth annual "Free the Press" campaign leading up to World Press Freedom Day May 3.
Through May 3, the State Department will highlight journalists and media outlets that have been censored, attacked, threatened, imprisoned, or otherwise oppressed because of their reporting and whose situations have not yet improved, according to Monday's announcement.
The cases will be profiled on www.HumanRights.gov and they will be tweeted out using the hashtag #FreethePress.
An outpouring of grief has flooded Roopbaan 's Facebook page.
Homosexuality is illegal in Bangladesh under Section 377, a colonial era anti-sodomy law that describes same-sex love as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman, or animal." Same-sex relationships are punished, at minimum, with 10 years imprisonment with a fine or with life imprisonment under the law.
However, the Bangladesh government didn't condemn the magazine or the organization, BBC Bengali service editor Sabir Mustafa told the station. Instead, Roopbaan and the organization received some support by foreign embassies.
This year the rally, held April 14, was banned by police as a part of widespread security measures in the country, according to media reports.
Due to safety and security concerns, the editors and contributors took precautions to remain anonymous, according to media reports. However, earlier this month both murdered men received death threats a few days prior to their killings, a close friend who didn't want to be identified told the Washington Post.
In spite of the dangers of their work and opportunities to leave Bangladesh, Mannan and his friends refused to abandon the magazine and their LGBT rights work, "a decision that wasn't surprising," the friend said.
The magazine became a platform for supporting LGBT rights in Bangladesh, he told the Post.
"Both were extremely gentle, non-violent and aware that being openly gay and active in their work was a personal danger," an unidentified British photographer told the BBC, who noted that until a year ago, coming out only meant shame upon one's family, not endangerment of one's life.
Increase in hacking deaths
The suspects dressed in blue T-shirts and claimed they were delivering packages when they entered Mannan's building in the capital, Dhaka, around 5 p.m., security guards told the Tribune.
They then entered his first floor flat. About a half hour later the security guards heard shouting and "shooting sounds," said Parvez.
"The assailants then attacked me with knives," he said.
Witnesses said the killers ran out of the building chanting, "Allahu Akbar (Allah is great)," before they disappeared, according to media reports.
The other security guard, who was only identified by the Tribune as Sumon, told the newspaper that one of the killers had a pistol in his hand.
Police found a box in the apartment, but didn't divulge its contents, reported the Guardian.
There has been a rash of murders of academics, foreigners, religious minorities, and secular bloggers within the past several years. However, within the past several months there was an onslaught of murders targeting liberal activists and members of minority Muslim sects and religious communities, according to media reports.
According to media reports, six bloggers and publishers have been hacked to death since February 2015. Since last September, two foreigners were murdered and there have been attacks on Christian priests and mosques.
This month, another blogger, a Bangladeshi law student, and a university professor were hacked to death. Additionally, Bangladesh's most prominent blogger, Imran Sarker, told the BBC that he received a phone call April 24 warning him that he would be killed "very soon."
According to media reports, 84 "atheist bloggers," including those in Europe and North America, are on a hit list created by Islamic groups that has been widely circulated. The bloggers that have been murdered in Bangladesh were on that list.
Individuals claiming association with al-Qaida and the Islamic State have taken responsibility for some of the murders.
Claims that Mannan's murder was carried out by al-Qaida circulated, but Maruf Hossain Sorder, spokesman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said that as of Monday no group claimed credit for Mannan and his friend's death.
Ansar al-Islam, a self-identified al-Qaida affiliate in the Indian subcontinent, reportedly claimed responsibility for the murders Monday, stating that it was due to their LGBT activism.
The White House is not confirming reports of Ansar al-Islam's claim of responsibility.
"We don't have any reason to believe this was not the case," said Mark C. Toner, deputy spokesman for the State Department, in response to a reporter's question during a press briefing April 26. "We don't, obviously, have any reason to confirm it absolutely at this point."
The murders have caused concern that religious extremists are gaining a foothold in the traditionally secular and tolerant country, in spite of it being a Muslim-majority nation of 160 million people.
However, the Bangladesh government is denying that al Qaeda groups or the Islamic State has a presence in the country. Government officials claim the attacks are being carried out by homegrown Islamist radicals, according to media reports.
The uptick of attacks has drawn criticism of Bangladesh's government, with experts claiming that none of the perpetrators of similar attacks in recent years have been brought to justice and its failure to properly address the attacks.
Champa Patel, Amnesty International's South Asia director, condemned Mannan's death and was quick to criticize Bangladesh authorities.
"The brutal killing today of an editor of an LGBTI publication and his friend, days after a university professor was hacked to death, underscores the appalling lack of protection being afforded to a range of peaceful activists in the country," Patel said in a statement. "There have been four deplorable killings so far this month alone. It is shocking that no one has been held to account for these horrific attacks and that almost no protection has been given to threatened members of civil society."
Bangladeshi authorities have a legal responsibility to protect those who express their opinions bravely without violence, she added.
Protecting U.S. embassy employees
Mannan and his friend's murders raised the question of safety and protection of American diplomats and local U.S. Embassy employees beyond embassy walls.
State Department spokesman John Kirby couldn't state how many individuals are threatened or under attack. However, he wasn't aware of anyone else at a U.S. Embassy being involved in violent attacks, he told reporters Monday.
"I can just assure you that all our embassies overseas take security �" physical security �" very seriously," he said.
However, when pushed, Kirby confirmed that local embassy staff isn't protected outside of the embassy. "They don't provide it," he said.
Kirby also addressed a reporter's questions about U.S. embassies protecting individuals who are in danger.
He responded that the White House, State Department and Department of Homeland Security were discussing considerations to enact "humanitarian parole."
Homeland security is in charge of these types of situations, he explained, but wouldn't go into specifics, simply stating, "We think that this is a valuable tool that should be considered. It's a door that we would like to see stay open."
"In the cases of a select number of individuals who remain in imminent danger, that is one option under consideration, and we certainly haven't closed that door," said Kirby, adding that representatives of the State Department would like to see it used "on a case-by-case basis as needed."
Condemnation and mourning
U.S. officials condemned the brutal murders and pledged the country's support to help the Bangladesh government investigate and "to ensure that the cowards who did this are held accountable," said Kirby.
"We are profoundly saddened by the loss of one of our own in such a senseless act of violence, and we extend our deepest condolences to Xulhaz's family and loved ones," Kerry said.
Diplomats also offered their condolences.
"I am devastated by the brutal murder of Xulhaz Mannan and another young Bangladeshi," said U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat in a statement Monday.
"Xulhaz was more than a colleague to those of us fortunate to work with him at the U.S. Embassy," she continued. "He was a dear friend. Our prayers are with Xulhaz, the other victim, and those injured in the attack."
USAID Administrator Gayle Smith issued a statement responding to Mannan's murder.
"He was the kind of person willing to fight for what he believed in, someone ready to stand up for his own rights and the rights of others," said Smith.
ORAM launches new website
The Organization for Refuge, Migration and Asylum has announced the launch of a new website, http://www.oramrefugee.org.
The new website, launched April 20, provides resources for professionals working with refugees, and refugees seeking assistance. It includes things such as training materials and a new first-of-its-kind multilingual glossary of LGBT terminology.
The resources are available in English, Arabic, Farsi, French, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.
The organization works to protect LGBT and other vulnerable refugees by assisting them with navigating through the refugee system for resettlement in safe countries.
Got international LGBT news tips? Call or send them to Heather Cassell at Skype: heather.cassell, or [email protected].