Journalists' Forum Assam urges Sheikh Hasina government to probe bloggers' killings

GUWAHATI : Expressing serious concern over the killing of three bloggers in Bangladesh this year, the Journalists' Forum Assam (JFA) has urged the Sheikh Hasina government in Dhaka to probe the matter to book the culprits under the law.

"The media reports from southeast Asian nation reveal that a Bangladeshi blogger named Ananta Bijoy Das (33) was killed in Sylhet on May 12, 2015.Earlier a US based atheist blogger Avijit Roy (42) and activist-writer Washiqur Rahman (26) were hacked to death in the national capital of Bangladesh," said a JFA press release today.

"Unconfirmed source claims that all three secular bloggers were assassinated for their online articles advocating reforms in various Islamic laws by the ultra conservative Islamist elements, which are gaining grounds in the Muslim dominated country," said in the release issued by its President Rupam Barua and Secretary Nava Thakuria.

Barua and Thakuria while urging the Bangladesh authorities to take visible actions against the religious fanatics in that country also extended the Forum's moral support to the secular and democratic forces.

The JFA quoted New York based Committee to Protect Journalists' statement: "The Bangladesh government must take urgent steps to ensure the security of critical bloggers in the country."

The CPJ also urged the Hasina government to show its commitment in curbing this violent trend by immediately finding Das's killers and bringing them to justice.

The Forum also cited UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova's statement voicing grave concern about the safety of citizen journalists in Bangladesh following the killing of bloggers.

"I condemn the murder of Ananta Bijoy Das and call on the authorities to ensure that those responsible for this killing are brought to justice," said Bokova, adding punishing such attacks is indispensable to maintain free public debate and free expression by media professionals and committed citizens alike.