Bangladesh police arrest suspect in murder of LGBT activists

Dhaka, May 15 (efe_epa). —  Dhaka police arrested a suspect over the April murder of two LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) activists, according to an epa journalist on the scene.

Shariful Islam was arrested Saturday night in southwestern Kushtia district in connection with the murders of Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Tonoy, members of the Roopbaan group which campaigns for LGBT rights, police said.

Ansar Al Islam, a Bangladesh group affiliated with AlQaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, previously claimed responsibility for the murders of the men, who were hacked to death on Apr. 25 by at least six unknown assailants carrying machetes and guns.

Shariful’s arrest is the latest development in a series of brutal attacks against religious minorities, journalists and activists, with at least 20 murders blamed on Islamist militants since 2013.

On Saturday an elderly Buddhist monk was hacked to death by two or three assailants at his pagoda in southeastern Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, homosexuality is a crime and section 377 of the penal code stipulates punishment of up to life imprisonment. Although lawsuits are not successful, the LGBT community is often discriminated against.