This past weekend, hundreds of thousands of Islamists took to
the streets in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, demanding death for bloggers whose
work they see as blasphemous. The demonstrations highlight the deteriorating
climate for journalists, both those whose work is the target of the protests
and those who have tried to cover the events. Several journalists were
assaulted while covering the day-long demonstrations, including reporter Nadia
Sharmin of the private broadcaster Ekushey Television. She was assaulted by a
group of 50 to 60 Islamists who threw her to the ground, beat her, and told her
that reporting was an unfit profession for a woman, news reports said.
These most recent
demonstrations led by the Islamist political party, Hefajat-e-Islam, are in response
to online writers and activists who have been instrumental in amplifying
support for the Shahbagh movement, which arose in early February when a senior
Islamist was sentenced to life imprisonment by a war crimes tribunal in
connection with mass killings dating back to the 1971 war for independence from
Pakistan. Many Bangladeshis saw the sentence as problematic given that
criminals in the country--consistently rated one of the most corrupt nations in the world --are often set
free for political gain when a new party comes to power. The Shahbagh movement
calls for the death penalty against all those standing trial for war crimes.
The movement also became a rallying call against growing Islamic fundamentalism
in a country that is 90 percent Muslim.
Threats to online journalists who have written about growing
fundamentalism surfaced in January when the popular blogger Asif Mohiuddin, who
describes himself as an atheist, was stabbed by religious extremists. Events took a
deadly turn on February 15 when Ahmed Rajib Haider,
another well-known blogger, was hacked to death outside his home by assailants
wielding machetes, a case that CPJ is still investigating.
Islamists also took to the streets in response to the Shahbagh
movement, leading to violent flare-ups across the country. Several journalists
were injured
while covering protests. A well-known journalist couple--Nayeemul
Islam Khan and Nasima Khan Monti--had
a series of bombs hurled at their car while driving home from a social event
last month. Khan has been a frequent commentator on television talk shows, and
his opinions might have offended one of the contending parties, news reports
said. The day after the attack on the journalists' car, unidentified assailants
threw three homemade explosives at the Chittagong Press Club, where local
journalists had gathered to be briefed on a planned rally by members of the
Shahbagh movement.
In a disturbing development, four
bloggers were arrested last
week on charges of insulting Islam through their Internet writings. The
bloggers, who have written about Islamist fundamentalism in a critical way,
face up to 10 years in jail under existing cyber laws. The arrests come amid a
wider crackdown on the Internet in which the government has blocked about a
dozen websites and blogs since last week. Authorities have also set up a panel,
which included intelligence chiefs, to investigate material posted on social
media sites that is perceived to be blasphemous. Last week, the country's
telecommunications regulator ordered two sites to remove hundreds of posts by
seven bloggers whose writings it said offended Muslims, reports said.
Many bloggers have stopped writing, and some have gone into
hiding fearing for their life, according to a Dhaka-based blogger who did not
want his name publicized due to security concerns. At least eight sites
announced a blackout on the blogosphere in protest of the recent arrests and
wider crackdown. One such site posted a notice that read: "Bangla
Blogosphere begins blackout in protest against harassing and cracking down on
bloggers."
With violence continuing
and the government saying that more arrests
are to come, the situation is bleak for Bangladeshi bloggers.
First published in CPJ Blog, Press Freedom News and Views,
April 8, 2013
Sumit Galhotra is CPJ’s first Steiger Fellow.
He has worked for CNN International, Amnesty International USA, and Human
Rights Watch, and has reported from London, India, and Israel and the Occupied
Territories. He specializes in human rights and South Asia
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