Secular blogger Ananta Bijoy Das hacked to death in Bangladesh
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Version 0 of 1. Bangladeshi blogger Ananta Bijoy Das was hacked to death in an attack by four men wielding machetes yesterday (12 May). His killing is part of a bloody pattern. Bloggers Washiqur Rahman and Avijit Roy were murdered in similar attacks in March and February respectively. Human Rights Watch (HRW) views the killings as part of a trend of violent intolerance towards freedom of religion and speech in Bangladesh. All three were regarded as secular (ie, non-Muslim) bloggers. According to the Guardian’s account, citing police statements, Das was attacked while on his way to work in the city of Sylhet. A banker, he wrote blogs for the website Mukto-Mona, mainly on science. He had also been critical of religious fundamentalism and of previous attacks on secular thinkers. Das was an activist for the Gonojogoron Moncho (national awakening) movement that is campaigning for a secular Bangladesh. The murder was condemned by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Its Asia programme research associate, Sumit Galhotra, said: “Given this series of murders, the government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina must take urgent steps to ensure the security of critical bloggers in Bangladesh. “The authorities can show their commitment to curbing this violent trend by finding Ananta Bijoy Das’s killers and bringing them to justice”. And HRW’s Asia director, Brad Adams, also urged the Bangladeshi government to “to act swiftly to bring to justice those responsible for these brutal attacks, and to make clear public statements that attacking freedom of religion and expression will not be tolerated”. He said: “This pattern of vicious attacks on secular and atheist writers not only silences the victims but also sends a chilling message to all in Bangladesh who espouse independent views on religious issues. “When the authorities jail atheist or secular bloggers for nothing more than expressing their opinion about religion, it suggests that the government agrees with radicals who are butchering people on Bangladesh’s streets”. HRW also pointed out that militant Islamic groups have published atheist blogger hit-lists. Sources: CPJ/HRW/The Guardian |