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Bangladesh Islamists rally against bloggers | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
Islamist groups in Bangladesh have held a rally in the capital, Dhaka, calling for tough curbs on bloggers who insult the Islamic religion. | |
Police say 100,000 people gathered for the rally after a "long march" from around the country to take part. | |
A 45-year-old man was killed on Friday when some activists clashed with supporters of the ruling Awami League. | A 45-year-old man was killed on Friday when some activists clashed with supporters of the ruling Awami League. |
Bus and river transport was halted and groups opposed to the rally announced a day-long shutdown. | |
The marchers called for a new blasphemy law, with the provision of the death penalty to punish those who insulted Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. | |
Their group, Hefajat-e-Islam, put forward a total of 13 demands, criticising the government for not taking action against what it called "atheist bloggers". | |
The marchers set off for the capital soon after Friday prayers from the southern city of Chittagong and other parts of the country, the BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan reports from Dhaka. | |
Blogger murdered | Blogger murdered |
In February, blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider was killed outside his home amid tensions over a tribunal judging war crimes committed during the 1971 independence war. | In February, blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider was killed outside his home amid tensions over a tribunal judging war crimes committed during the 1971 independence war. |
Mr Haider was among a group of bloggers who had called for the execution of Islamist leaders for crimes committed in the 1971 war. Abdul Kader Mullah, leader of the main Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, was jailed for life weeks before. | |
Earlier this week, four bloggers were arrested on suspicion of harming religious sentiment through their work. | Earlier this week, four bloggers were arrested on suspicion of harming religious sentiment through their work. |
One of the four had been attacked in January. | One of the four had been attacked in January. |
The arrests prompted eight blog operators to black out their websites, with liberals accusing the government of yielding to Islamist pressure. | The arrests prompted eight blog operators to black out their websites, with liberals accusing the government of yielding to Islamist pressure. |
There have been several clashes in recent weeks between Islamists and supporters of the Awami League. | |
The man killed on Friday was an Awami League supporter. Ten other people were hurt when police opened fire in the Kamrangirchar area of the capital. | The man killed on Friday was an Awami League supporter. Ten other people were hurt when police opened fire in the Kamrangirchar area of the capital. |
Islamists accused the government of trying to foil Saturday's rally in Dhaka by suspending transport links to the capital, our correspondent says. |
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