On December 22, 2017, Dr. Mubashar Hasan returned home after being left blindfolded in the middle of the night on a highway in Dhaka.  His family had not heard from him since he went missing on November 7, 2017, after attending a United Nations Development Programme meeting in the city.   

Dr. Hasan, an assistant professor of political science at North-South University in Dhaka, is well-respected for his research and writings on terrorism and violent religious extremism in Bangladesh.  He is also known for his work as the founder of a non-partisan online platform that seeks to promote peaceful dialogue on democracy and multiculturalism in the country.  It is believed that he was likely targeted in connection with his academic research.  (We understand that he had expressed concerns about his personal safety shortly before he disappeared.)