Rationalists’ and Humanists’ Forum of India is appalled to hear that rationalist and humanist blogger Avijit Roy has been murdered in Bangladesh a few hours ago.
Avijit Roy, author, humanist, freethinker
“Avijit Roy lives in America and so, it is not possible to kill him right now. He will be murdered when he comes back.” — These were the words of an Islamist activist Farabi Shafiur Rahman referring to Avijit (or Abhijit) Roy early last year.
The man making the threat, who is well-known to the authorities, has repeatedly and openly talked about wanting to see secular and freethought writers dead, and those under threat have complained that authorities have ignored his threats and incitement, despite his credible links to Islamist extremists and similar murders taking place.
RHFI with freethinkers and humanists from Bangladesh in calling for an end to this fatal appeasement of death threats by the authorities in Bangladesh.
Avijit Roy was a well-known writer, founder of the freethought blogging platform Mukto-Mona, which he described as “an Internet congregation of freethinkers, rationalists, skeptics, atheists, and humanists of mainly Bengali and South Asian descent”.
The general secretary of RHFI, Debashis said “In countries like India and Bangladesh, we have seen Government satisfying religious fundamentalists’ demands, not protecting the rationalists and free-thinkers. Everyone almost accepted the fact that this will happen and will continue to happen. In 2013 Narendra Dabholkar and last week Govind Pansare was killed in India. Avijit was threatened by Islamist activist Farabi Shafiur Rahman last year that he would be killed when he comes back to Bangladesh. Farabi has not yet been arrested. Why Madam, Hasina? Is government sitting like a lame duck? Government is responsible to protect its citizen. Who blocked Abhijit’s blog, for which, he was possibly chopped to death?”
Muted onlookers. Freethinker Avijit Roy hacked to death n wife greivously injured by fundamentalists.
Muted onlookers. Freethinker Avijit Roy hacked to death n wife greivously injured by fundamentalists.
The Dhaka Tribune Reports:
Writer Avijit Roy hacked to death
DU Correspondent , DMCH Correspondent
His wife blogger Bonna also sustains severe injuries in the attack
Blogger and writer Avijit Roy has been killed and his wife, blogger Rafida Ahmed Bonna, severely injured when unidentified miscreants hacked them at TSC of Dhaka University on Thursday night.
Avijit, son of former DU teacher Dr Ajay Roy and also the founder of Mukto-mona Blog, and his wife have been admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition immediately after the attack.
Later, he died while undergoing treatment around 10:30pm, said Shahbagh police station OC Sirajul Islam.
Bonna told the Dhaka Tribune: “Two miscreants attacked us with cleaver near TSC intersection around 8:45pm.”
Witnesses said some unidentified miscreants swooped on the bloggers and hacked them mercilessly between 8:30pm and 9pm while they were returning from the book fair, leaving them critically injured.
OC Sirajul said: “We do not have any clear idea about the attackers. But, the police is suspecting that those, who attacked Humayun Azad, might be behind this as the attacking style suggested similarity.”
On February 27, 2004, professor Humayun Azad was attacked on the way back from book fair, in the following August he died in Germany.
Miscreants also exploded two crude bombs outside of the DMCH around 11:30pm, immediately after the news spread in the city.
A group of people have staged a protest in front of the DMCH, protesting the killing.
DU Proctor Amjad Ali said: “I came to know the writer had been receiving threats from militants because of his anti-communal activism.”
Among the teachers of Dhaka University who rushed to Dhaka Medical College hospital hearing the news of the attack, were Professor Dr Abul Barkat, Professor Anwar Hossain.
Professor Anwar Hossain said the those, who are against the country’s liberation, democracy, free thoughts and attacked Humayun Azad, have perpetrated this.
Liton Nandi, Dhaka University Chhatra Union president, told the Dhaka Tribune they were set to bring a torch procession, protesting the attack and killing in a short time.
Dhaka University teacher Robayet Ferdous told the Dhaka Tribune that the teachers and student of Dhaka University will hold a rally at TSC in protest against the killing at 11am Friday.
Dhaka city unit Political Affairs Secretary of Students’ Federation Refat Salam told the Dhaka Tribune:”we will bring out a protest procession on DU campus around 11am Friday.”
Earlier in 2014, online bookstore Rokomari.com stopped selling books by the well-known writer after an Islamic militant issued death threats on Facebook to the website’s owner.
The decision to withdraw his books was prompted by death threats posted to Facebook by Farabi Shafiur Rahman, an Islamist extremist allegedly linked to Jamaat-e-Islami.
Farabi accused Avijit of defaming Islam and the “prophet” Mohammed and accused Rokomari.com chairman Mahmudul Hasan Sohag of “promoting atheism” by selling his books.
In his Facebook post, Farabi specified the office address of Rokomari.com and called upon his “Islamist friends” in the adjacent locality to attack.
He also told Sohag that he would suffer the same fate as Ahmed Rajib Haider, a popular blogger known by the psuedonym Thaba Baba, who was hacked to death last year by machete-wielding Islamic militants.
Avijit, a Bangladesh-born engineer, who was living in the United States, rose to prominence with his books on philosophy, scientific thought and human rights issues.
Among his books are Biswas and Bigyan (Belief and Science), Abishwasher Darshan (philosophy of atheism), Samakamita: Baigyanik ebong Samajmanastattik Anusandhan (Homosexuality: Scientific and socio-psychological intervention), Satantra Bhabna o Buddir Mukti (individual thoughts and freedom of thoughts) etc.
Avijit and his wife came to Bangladesh to attend the book fair as two of his books came out in the fair.
Freethinker Avijit Roy hacked to death n wife greivously injured by fundamentalists.
Extracts from emails by Avijit Roy about threats by Farabi Shafiur Rahman
“[21 March 2014] I am often involved in causes that rally support for free speech movements in Bangladesh through my writing and activism. Recently, I found that I have been targeted by a group of militant Islamists and terrorists. Farabi Shafiur Rahman, an extremist who is allegedly linked to the radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami and Hizbut Tahrir [a terrorist organization that operates in 40 countries (including Bangladesh) around the world] has given me a death threat through a facebook status. It is worth noting that he is the same Farabi who threatened to kill a Muslim cleric officiated at Ahmed Rajib Haider’s (a popular blogger known by the psuedonym Thaba Baba, who was hacked to death last year by machete-wielding Islamic militants) funeral last year during Shahbagh Movement. Police at that time arrested Farabi on charges of “instigating the murder” but he was granted bail. Although he has continued to threaten many progressives in Bangladesh, no official action has been taken against him.
Most recently, Farabi wrote a death threat on Facebook to Rokomari.com (Bangladesh’s first online bookstore) and ordered the site to stop selling of my books. In his Facebook post, Farabi specified the office address of Rokomari.com and called upon his “Islamist friends” in the adjacent locality to attack. He also told Mahmudul Hasan Sohagh, the owner of Rokomari.com, that he would suffer the same fate as Ahmed Rajib Haider. As a result, Rokomari has ‘taken my books off its list’. The news created a huge uproar and the issue came to the attention of national media and beyond. The link is here:
http://www.ucanews.com/news/bangladesh-online-bookstore-drops-author-after-death-threats/70517
I lost hope for Bangladesh in this case, because I know that nobody will put any charge for such ‘small’ crime.”
In another later message he drew attention to a 2 April news story about two students arrested for supposedly hurting religious sentiments. They had been reported by no less than Farabi Shafiur Rahman, and freethinkers complained that rather than arrest Rahman for his threats they were instead pursuing his complaints about supposed blasphemers! Roy highlighted the following from the article:
“A group of online activists, who advocate secularism, have accused the police of always being blind to Shafiur Rahman Farabi’s numerous threats to kill people.
The group claims the teens had been detained at the instigation of Farabi and Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student front of Jamaat-e-Islami.
Rahi’s family says Shibir activists had handed the Chittagong College student over to police as he had refused to join the organisation.
Chittagong is a stronghold of the Jamaat affiliate.
According to online activists, Farabi had written a blog post criticising another post by Dr Abhijit Roy (Dr. Avijit Roy), founder of the blog ‘Muktomona’.
Many had termed Abhijit ‘atheist’ in their comments on Farabi’s post.
Commenting on his post, the writer himself wrote, “Abhijit Roy (Avijit Roy) lives in America and so, it is not possible to kill him right now. He will be murdered when he comes back.”
Here is the screen shot of Farabi’s post.
Here is the facebook link of Farabi Shafiur Rahman
https://www.facebook.com/shafiur2012?fref=ts&pnref=story
Farabi Shafiur Rahman, Islamist Terrorist who wrote, “Abhijit Roy (Avijit Roy) lives in America and so, it is not possible to kill him right now. He will be murdered when he comes back.”
RATIONALIST DEBASHIS 