Bangladesh should immediately drop charges against and release four bloggers and a newspaper editor arrested this month, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.
All five are facing criminal charges solely related to the peaceful exercise of their right to free speech, it said in a statement.
Human Rights Watch said Dhaka should stop targeting individuals and media publishing stories the government deems objectionable and reaffirm its commitment to freedom of expression, a principle which the governing Awami League has long claimed to champion.
‘By targeting peaceful critics in the media and blogosphere and promising more arrests, the government is abandoning any serious claim that it is committed to free speech,’ said Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch.
‘Bangladeshis should have the right to peacefully express their views, and the state should address these demands through the rule of law instead of embarking on politically motivated arrests.’
On 2 and 3 April, police arrested four bloggers, Subrata Adhikari Shuvo, Mashiur Rahman Biplob, Rasel Parvez and Asif Mohiuddin who posted articles either critical of the government’s attempts to appease the Islamist demands or said that the government had failed to address the concerns of minority religions.
Police described the four as ‘known atheists and naturalists’ who wrote derogatory things about the Prophet, and said the four would face charges of ‘instigating negative elements against Islam to create anarchy.’
‘These bloggers can only be called political prisoners, since they are in jail for peacefully expressing their views,’ Adams said. ‘Freedom of religion also includes the freedom not to believe in a religion and to make those views known. This is a retreat from liberal values.’
All five are facing criminal charges solely related to the peaceful exercise of their right to free speech, it said in a statement.
Human Rights Watch said Dhaka should stop targeting individuals and media publishing stories the government deems objectionable and reaffirm its commitment to freedom of expression, a principle which the governing Awami League has long claimed to champion.
‘By targeting peaceful critics in the media and blogosphere and promising more arrests, the government is abandoning any serious claim that it is committed to free speech,’ said Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch.
‘Bangladeshis should have the right to peacefully express their views, and the state should address these demands through the rule of law instead of embarking on politically motivated arrests.’
On 2 and 3 April, police arrested four bloggers, Subrata Adhikari Shuvo, Mashiur Rahman Biplob, Rasel Parvez and Asif Mohiuddin who posted articles either critical of the government’s attempts to appease the Islamist demands or said that the government had failed to address the concerns of minority religions.
Police described the four as ‘known atheists and naturalists’ who wrote derogatory things about the Prophet, and said the four would face charges of ‘instigating negative elements against Islam to create anarchy.’
‘These bloggers can only be called political prisoners, since they are in jail for peacefully expressing their views,’ Adams said. ‘Freedom of religion also includes the freedom not to believe in a religion and to make those views known. This is a retreat from liberal values.’