We, the undersigned academics, intellectuals, human rights advocates, and organizations from Bangladesh and around the world, unequivocally condemn recent statements by Bangladesh government officials appearing to blame writers, publishers, and activists for their own deaths at the hands of violent extremists with suspected links to militant Islamist groups. We strongly urge the Bangladesh government to immediately take steps to vigorously protect the rights to freedom of religion, belief, and expression, both in word and in deed.
You can See PDF of letter here.
Since February 2015, there have been six deadly attacks on atheist, humanist, and secularist writers, bloggers, and publishers in Bangladesh, all by machete-wielding militants. On February 26, 2015, Avijit Roy, founder of the freethought forum Mukto-Mona, was killed while leaving a book fair, which he was visiting with his wife, author and activist Rafida Bonya Ahmed. Ahmed survived, but was seriously injured. On March 30, 2015, Washiqur Rahman was killed by a group of extremists while on his way to work. On May 12, 2015, Ananta Bijoy Das was killed in the same fashion. On August 7, 2015, Niloy Neel was killed when six men tricked their way into Niloy’s home, locked his partner in a room, and hacked Niloy to death. On October 31, 2015, Faisal Arefin Deepan, a Muslim publisher of secularist books, was killed at his publishing house. The same day, three others — Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, Tariq Rahim, and Ranadipam Basu — were seriously injured in a similar attack at another publishing house. And, on April 6, 2016, law student Nazimuddin Samad was attacked and killed while returning home from class.
Religious believers, LGBT rights activists, and university professors have also been subjected to threats and violent attacks. Between October and December 2015, 37 Christian leaders received death threats. On November
27, 2015, gunmen attacked a Shia mosque, killing one and injuring three. On December 25, 2015, a suicide
bomber injured three at an Ahmadi mosque. On February 21, militants killed a Hindu priest and injured a devotee.
On March 15, 2016, a Shia cleric was killed. On April 23, 2016, university English professor Rezaul Karim
Siddique was hacked to death on his way to work. On April 24, another Hindu devotee was killed. On April 25,
2016, Xulhaz Mannan, editor of Bangladesh’s first LGBT magazine, and a fellow LGBT rights activist and theatre
artist, Mahbub Tanay, were stabbed to death. And on April 30, 2016, a Hindu tailor previously arrested and
jailed for allegedly making derogatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad, was hacked to death.
While some of these attacks have been claimed by native terrorist groups such as Ansarullah Bangla Team and
Ansar-al Islam, the Bangladesh branch of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, others have been claimed by
Daesh (ISIL).
The response from the Bangladesh government to these attacks has been extremely disappointing; the response
to attacks on atheists and secular activists has been particularly disheartening. No one has yet been held to account for the killings. While some arrests have been made, few charges have been filed against the perpetrators.
Some threatened atheists and secularists, who are on public hit lists released by militant Islamist groups suspected in ongoing attacks, have been told to self-censor or go into exile when requesting assistance from law
enforcement. Many activists are also hesitant to approach the police, fearing that they could be charged under
the Information, Communications, and Technology Act, which criminalizes writings that hurt religious belief.
Government officials have failed to take action to help protect and support threatened atheists or secularists, or
publicly condemn the killings. Officials have instead distanced themselves from the victims, or even appeared
to blame the deceased for their own murders.
After the murder of Niloy Neel, Prime Minister Hasina stated, “You can’t attack someone else’s religion. You’ll
have to stop doing this. It won’t be tolerated if someone else’s religious sentiment is hurt.” After the recent murder of Nazimuddin Samad, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan stated that part of the investigation would be “to
see whether he has written anything objectionable in his blogs,” implying that would provide some justification
for Samad’s death. Minister Khan would also state, “The bloggers, they should control their writing. … I want
to say that people should be careful not to hurt anyone by writing anything — hurt any religion, any people’s
beliefs, any religious leaders.” Just days later, Prime Minister Hasina shared similar sentiments, stating in regards to secular bloggers, “I consider such writings as not free thinking but filthy words. Why anyone would
write such things? It’s not at all acceptable if anyone writes against our prophet or other religions. Why would
the government take responsibility if such writings lead to any untoward incidents? Everyone should maintain
decency. Or else the government wouldn’t take the responsibility for any uncivilised attitude.”
One need not agree with another person’s opinions on religion to recognize their right to express those opinions
and live in relative peace. The answer to objectionable expression must not be violence, but counter-expression.
These killings of innocent writers, bloggers, publishers, activists, and religious believers — simply for peacefully exercising their basic freedoms — are robbing Bangladesh of bright minds and brave human rights defenders.
It is inexcusable that government officials have, by and large, sided with violent extremists, asked citizens to
self-censor, and failed to provide enough protection or hold the killers to account. Bangladesh has made commitments to uphold fundamental human rights. The Constitution guarantees all citizens the rights to life (Article 32), freedom of conscience and speech (Article 39), and freedom of religion (Article
41). Additionally, Bangladesh is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
which protects the right to life (Article 6), to not be discriminated against on various grounds (Article 2), to
freedom of thought, conscience, or religion (Article 18), and to freedom of expression (Article 19).
These rights include the liberty to adopt or not adopt a religious belief, to change or leave a religion or belief, to observe and manifest one’s religion or belief, either individually or in community, and to speak freely and engage in public discourse about one’s beliefs, ideas, or convictions — without fear of reprisal attacks or government crackdowns.
We therefore call on:
• The Bangladesh government to vigorously protect the full exercise of the freedoms of religion, belief, and
expression, threatened atheists, secularists, minorities, and all those exercising their rights in their country;
• Bangladesh government officials to stop citing religion as a justification to refuse the rights of certain
Bangladeshis in public statements, and forcefully and categorically condemn violent attacks on atheists, secularists, minorities, and all those exercising their rights in their country;
• The Bangladesh government to conduct prompt, thorough, effective, independent, and impartial investigations
into the killings since February 2015, and ensure that all those responsible are brought to justice in fair
trials which respect international standards;
• The international community to extend support and provide assistance to Bangladesh to address this human
rights crisis.
Signed,
INDIVIDUALS
Aase Gjerdrum
Editor and Translator
Ahmad Tabshir Choudhury
National Vice President
External Affairs & Public Relation
Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Bangladesh
Alan Levinovitz, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy and Religion
James Madison University
Alexis de Roode
Poet
Alf R. Jacobsen
Writer
Ali Riaz, PhD
University Professor and Chair
Department of Politics and Government
Illinois State University
Amanda Sebestyen
Director of Asylum Education and Legal Fund
Member
National Union of Journalists
Amit R. Baishya, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of English
University of Oklahoma
Amrapali Basumatary, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Kirori Mal College
University of Delhi
Amritjit Singh, PhD
Langston Hughes Professor of English
Ohio University
Ananya Azad
Blogger and Writer
Ania Loomba, PhD
Catherine Bryson Professor of English
University of Pennsylvania
Anindya Kanti Biswas
Editor-in-Chief
kalakinkar.com
Anirban Baishya, PhD Candidate
School of Cinematic Arts
University of South California
Ann Grodzins Gold, PhD
Chair, Department of Religion
Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and
Professor of Anthropology
Syracuse University
Anne B. Reinertsen, PhD
Professor in Education
Queen Maud University College
Anu Muhammad, PhD
Professor
Department of Economics
Jahangirnagar University
Dr. Ajoy Roy
Retired Professor
University of Dhaka
STATEMENT ON ATTACKS ON ATHEISTS, SECULARISTS, AND
RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN BANGLADESH
Arifur Rahman
Cartoonist and Member of PEN Norway
Arnt Birkedal
Writer
Aruni Kashyap
Writer and Translator
Assistant Professor of English
Ashoka University, India
Asbjørn Øverås
Editor
Åse Brandvold
Journalist and Author
Atle Naess
Writer
Audity Falguni
Writer, Poet, and Activist
Austin Dacey, PhD
Author and Philosopher
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Founder
AHA Foundation
Bernt Bølviken
Advisor
Aschehoug Publishing House
Boris van der Ham
Chairman
Dutch Humanist Association
Birgithe Schumann-Olsen
Librarian and Member of PEN Norway
Brit Bildøen
Writer
Brynjar Bjerkem
Programme Manager
Transnational Arts Production
Caroline Halliday
Writer and Artist
Choity Ahmed
Editorial Board Member
Anupranan Literary Magazine
Christopher Grøndahl
Novelist and Screenwriter
Dr. Colin Gonsalves
Senior Advocate
Supreme Court of India
Chairman
Human Rights Law Network
Deeyah Khan
Emmy-Award Winning Film Director, Music
Producer, Composer, and Activist
Dipen Bhattacharya, PhD
Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Moreno Valley College
Doranne Jacobson
Research Associate
Columbia University
Elham Manea, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
University of Zurich
Elin Ørjasæter
Author
Member, PEN Norway
Faizun Zackariya
Citizens’ Voice for Justice and Peace
STATEMENT ON ATTACKS ON ATHEISTS, SECULARISTS, AND
RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN BANGLADESH
Fariborz Pooya
Host, Bread and Roses TV
Geraldine Forbes, PhD
Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita
Department of History
State University of New York at Oswego
Grace Westcott
Executive Director
PEN Canada
Rev. Gretta Vosper
Minister, United Church of Canada
Gro Kjernli
Member, PEN Norway
Gudmund Vindland
Novelist
Gunn Hild Lem
Writer and Editor
Gyrid Axe Øvsteng
Writer
Haim Bresheeth
Professorial Research Associate
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
School of Oriental and African Studies
Hana Shams Ahmed
Activist and MA Candidate
University of Western Ontario
Hanne Herrman
Independent Artist
Hans Tarjei Skaare
Teacher
Nansen Academy
Harald S. Klungveit
Journalist and Member of PEN Norway
Hege Newth Nouri
Secretary General
PEN Norway
Hilde Ghosh Maisey
General Manager
Transnational Arts Production
Ibn Warraq
Author
Ida Lou Larsen
Journalist
Inger Sverreson Holmes
Translator
Norwegian Non-Fiction Authors’ and Translators’
Organisation
Imran H. Sarker
Blogger and Secular Activist
Iva Gavanski
Advisor, WiPC
PEN Norway
Jahanara Nuri
Writer and Human Rights Activist
Jay Rajiva, PhD
Assistant Professor
Global Anglophone Literature
Department of English
Georgia State University
Johanna Fronth-Nygren
Translator and Writer
Member, PEN Norway
STATEMENT ON ATTACKS ON ATHEISTS, SECULARISTS, AND
RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN BANGLADESH
Jyotirmoy Barua
Barrister at Law
Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Kaberi Gayen
University of Dhaka
Karen Leonard, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Department of Anthropology
University of California, Irvine
Khushi Kabir
Feminist and Human Rights Activist
Knut Nærum
Writer
Kristin Skare Orgeret, PhD
Professor
Department of Journalism and Media Studies
Oslo and Akershus University College
Kristina Quintano
Publisher and Translator
Kumar Rana
Project Director
Pratichi India trust
Lawrence M. Krauss, PhD
Foundation Professor
School of Earth and Space Exploration and
Physics Department
Director, Origins Project
Arizona State University
Line Alice Ytrehus, PhD
Professor, Intercultural Studies
NLA University College
Member, PEN Norway
Lucy Bland, PhD
Professor of Social and Cultural History
Anglia Ruskin University, Cambride
Maajid Nawaz
Author and Activist
Founding Chairman, Quilliam
Madhurima Chakraborty, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Columbia College Chicago
Makiko Kimura, PhD
Associate Professor
Tsuda College
Shimin Gaikou Centre
Mara Matta, PhD
Professor of Modern Literatures
of the Indian Subcontinent
Sapienza University of Rome
Marieme Helie Lucas
Former Faculty (Social Sciences)
Algiers University
Founder, Secularism Is A Women’s Issue
Marius Kolbenstvedt
Actor
Maryam Namazie
Spokesperson, Council of Ex-Muslims of
Britain and One Law for All
Producer, Bread and Roses TV
Maskwaith Ahsan
Author, Journalist, and Educator
Massimo Pigliucci
K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy
City College of New York
STATEMENT ON ATTACKS ON ATHEISTS, SECULARISTS, AND
RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN BANGLADESH
Max Farrar, PhD
Emeritus Professor Department of Sociology
University of Leeds
Mehnaaz Momen, PhD
Associate Professor
Texas A & M International University
Mehran Amirahmadi
Author and Member of PEN Norway
Mette C. Newth
Writer and Translator
Michael Bauer
Author and CEO
Bavarian Humanist Association
Michael De Dora
Director of Public Policy; UN Representative
Center for Inquiry
Michael Kazimierz O’Dwyer
Physics and Math Teacher
Mitul Baruah, PhD Candidate
Geography Department
Syracuse University
M.M. Akash, PhD
Professor
Department of Economics
University of Dhaka
Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of International Relations
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Morten Harry Olsen
Author and Member of PEN Norway
Muktasree Chakma Sathi
Researcher and Human Rights Activist
Nakul Singh Sawhney
Filmmaker
Dr. Natalia Paszkiewicz
Independent Researcher
Nigel C. Hughes, PhD
Professor
Department of Earth Sciences
University of California, Irvine
Nils Nordberg
Writer and Professor
Lucy Bland Anglia Ruskin University
Ole Robert Sunde
Author and Member of PEN Norway
Pål Moddi Knutsen
Musician and Member of PEN Norway
Papori Bora, PhD
Assistant Professor
Centre for Women’s Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University
P.B. Cliteur, PhD
Professor of Jurisprudence
University of Leiden
Per Kværne, PhD
Professor Emeritus
University of Oslo
Rafida Bonya Ahmed
Humanist and Activist
Senior Director, Finance Industry
Widow of Dr. Avijit Roy
STATEMENT ON ATTACKS ON ATHEISTS, SECULARISTS, AND
RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN BANGLADESH
Raihan Sharif
Fulbright Scholar
Washington State University
Ranabir Samaddar, PhD
Distinguished Chair in Migration and Forced
Migration Studies
Calcutta Research Group
Ragnar Aalbu
Illustrator and Author
Member, PEN Norway
Ratnadipa De Ghosh
Poet and Author
Raza Rumi
Scholar in Residence
Ithaca College, NY
Reza Aslan, PhD
Author and Religious Scholar
Richard Dawkins
Emeritus Professor
University of Oxford
Ricky Varghese, PhD, RSW
Psychotherapist
Rumana Hashem, PhD
Post-Doc Researcher
Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees
and Belonging
University of East London
Russell Blackford, PhD
School of Humanities and Social Science
University of Newcastle, NSW
Salman Rushdie
Novelist
Sam Harris, PhD
Author and Neuroscientist
Samina Luthfa, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Sociology
University of Dhaka
Sean Dowdy, PhD Candidate
Department of Anthropology
University of Chicago
Shahidul Alam PhD
Photographer, Writer and Curator
Shelley Feldman, PhD
Professor
Department of Development Sociology
Cornell University
Stein Versto
Writer
Steven Pinker, PhD
Johnstone Professor of Psychology
Harvard University
Supriti Dhar
Editor
womenchapter.com
Susan Wadley, PhD
Director, South Asia Center
Syracuse University
Suzanne Hanchett, PhD
Partner, Planning Alternatives for Change LLC
Taslima Nasreen
Author
STATEMENT ON ATTACKS ON ATHEISTS, SECULARISTS, AND
RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN BANGLADESH
Terje Torkildsen
Author and Comedian
Tor Edvin Dahl
Writer
Truls Lie
Editor
Varuni Bhatia, PhD
Assistant Professor
Asian Languages and Cultures Department
University of Michigan
Willy Tore Mørch
Professor Emeritus
University of Tromsø
ORGANIZATIONS
21st Century Wilberforce Initiative
American Atheists
American Humanist Association
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-Asia)
Atheist Alliance International
Atheist Foundation of Australia
Bangladesh Group – The Netherlands (Bangladesh Groep Nederland)
Blogger & Online Activist Network-Bangladesh
British Humanist Association
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Canadian Secular Alliance
Cartoonist’s Club
Center for Inquiry
Centre for Inquiry – Canada
Centre for Secular Space UK
Christian Solidarity Worldwide – UK
Council of Australian Humanist Societies
Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
Dutch Humanist Association (Humanistisch Verbond)
European Humanist Federation
Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations
Freedom House
The Hague Peace Projects
Hamburg Foundation for Politically Persecuted
Humanist Society Scotland
Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association
International League of Non-Religious and Atheists (Germany)
International Humanist and Ethical Union
Insan Foundation Trust
STATEMENT ON ATTACKS ON ATHEISTS, SECULARISTS, AND
RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN BANGLADESH
Liberty South Asia
Movements.org
Mukto-Mona
One Law for All
Open Doors
Organizing Committee, Chittagong Hill Tracts Campaign
PEN American Center
PEN Nederland
Progressive Atheists, Inc. (Australia)
Muslims for Progressive Values
Raif Badawi Foundation for Freedom
Rationalist Society of Australia
Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science
Secular Coalition for America
Secular Coalition of Australia
Secular Party of Australia
Secularism Is A Women’s Issue
Swedish Humanist Association
University for Humanistic Studies (Universiteit voor Humanistiek)