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Mohiuddin, a winner of the [[The BOBs (weblog award)|BOBs award]] for online activism, was on an Islamist hit list that also included the murdered sociology professor Shafiul Islam.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.rsf.org/bangladesh-bloggers-on-hit-list-posted-by-19-11-2014,47250.html|title=BLOGGERS ON HIT-LIST POSTED BY SUPPOSED ISLAMIST GROUP IN BANGLADESH|date=19 Nov 2014}}</ref> Mohiuddin's blog was shut down by the [[ Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission]], and he was jailed for posting “offensive comments about Islam and Mohammed.”<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.de/bangladesh-gags-award-winning-blogger/a-16697713|title=Bangladesh gags award-winning blogger|work=Deutsche Welle|date=25 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.rsf.org/bangladesh-unjustifiable-decision-to-send-30-07-2013,44992.html|title=BLOGGER GRANTED BAIL ON HEALTH GROUNDS|date=7 Aug 2013|publisher=Reporters without Borders}}</ref> The secular government arrested several other bloggers and blocking about a dozen websites and blogs, as well as giving police protection to some bloggers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/27/american-atheist-blogger-hacked-to-death-in-bangladesh|title=American atheist blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh|work=The Guardian|date=27 Feb 2015}}</ref>
Mohiuddin, a winner of the [[The BOBs (weblog award)|BOBs award]] for online activism, was on an Islamist hit list that also included the murdered sociology professor Shafiul Islam.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.rsf.org/bangladesh-bloggers-on-hit-list-posted-by-19-11-2014,47250.html|title=BLOGGERS ON HIT-LIST POSTED BY SUPPOSED ISLAMIST GROUP IN BANGLADESH|date=19 Nov 2014}}</ref> Mohiuddin's blog was shut down by the [[ Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission]], and he was jailed for posting “offensive comments about Islam and Mohammed.”<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.de/bangladesh-gags-award-winning-blogger/a-16697713|title=Bangladesh gags award-winning blogger|work=Deutsche Welle|date=25 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.rsf.org/bangladesh-unjustifiable-decision-to-send-30-07-2013,44992.html|title=BLOGGER GRANTED BAIL ON HEALTH GROUNDS|date=7 Aug 2013|publisher=Reporters without Borders}}</ref> The secular government arrested several other bloggers and blocking about a dozen websites and blogs, as well as giving police protection to some bloggers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/27/american-atheist-blogger-hacked-to-death-in-bangladesh|title=American atheist blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh|work=The Guardian|date=27 Feb 2015}}</ref>

International organisations, including [[Human Rights Watch]],<ref>
{{cite news
| title = Bangladesh: Crackdown on Bloggers, Editors Escalates
| author =
| publisher = [[Human Rights Watch]]
| url = http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/15/bangladesh-crackdown-bloggers-editors-escalates
| date = 15 April 2013
| accessdate =
}}
"the government is abandoning any serious claim that it is committed to free speech,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch."</ref> [[Amnesty International]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ASA13/007/2013/en/|title=Bangladesh: Further information: Detained editor alleges torture|quote=Blogger Asif Mohiudeen, arrested on 3 April for allegedly posting blasphemous comments online, remains in detention and at risk of torture|publisher=Amnesty International|date=17 April 2013}}</ref> [[Reporters without Borders]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Call for detained blogger’s immediate release|publisher=Reporters without Borders|date=11 Apr 2013|url=http://en.rsf.org/bangladesh-call-for-detained-blogger-s-11-04-2013,44367.html|quote=Reporters Without Borders condemns the baseless judicial proceedings brought against the detained blogger Asif Mohiuddin, who could be tried and convicted on a charge of blasphemy and “hurting religious sentiments” at his next hearing}}</ref> and the [[Committee to Protect Journalists]]<ref name=cpj2013>{{cite web|url=https://www.cpj.org/2014/02/attacks-on-the-press-in-2013-bangladesh.php|title=Attacks on the Press - Bangladesh|publisher=Committee to Protect Journalists|date=Feb 2014}} condemned the imprisonment of bloggers and the climate of fear for journalists.


Roy wrote to the [[Center for Inquiry]]<ref name="cfi2013"/> and the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Humanists appalled at the murder of secular activist and writer Avijit Roy|url=http://iheu.org/humanists-appalled-at-the-murder-of-secular-activist-and-writer-avijit-roy/|date=26 Feb 2015|work=iheu.org|publisher=International Humanist and Ethical Union}}</ref> for support, leading to [[Worldwide Protests for Free Expression in Bangladesh|international protests]] to support free expression.
Roy wrote to the [[Center for Inquiry]]<ref name="cfi2013"/> and the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Humanists appalled at the murder of secular activist and writer Avijit Roy|url=http://iheu.org/humanists-appalled-at-the-murder-of-secular-activist-and-writer-avijit-roy/|date=26 Feb 2015|work=iheu.org|publisher=International Humanist and Ethical Union}}</ref> for support, leading to [[Worldwide Protests for Free Expression in Bangladesh|international protests]] to support free expression.

Revision as of 23:27, 27 February 2015

Avijit Roy
অভিজিৎ রায়
File:Avijit Roy.jpg
Bornc. 1972
Bangladesh
DiedFebruary 26, 2015
Bangladesh
OccupationCritic, columnist, engineer
LanguageBengali, English
NationalityAmerican, Bangladeshi
GenreAnti-establishment
SpouseRafida Ahmed Banya
Children1 daughter

Avijit Roy (Bengali: অভিজিৎ রায়; c. 1972 – February 26, 2015) was a Bangladeshi American engineer, writer and blogger. Roy was a prominent advocate of free expression in Bangladesh, coordinating protests against government censorship and imprisonment of bloggers. He was an engineer by profession, but well known for his writings on his self-founded site Mukto-Mona — an Internet community for freethinkers, rationalists, skeptics, atheists, and humanists of mainly Bengali and South Asian descent. He was hacked to death by assailants in Dhaka on 26 February 2015.[1]

Early life and education

Avijit was the son of Ajoy Roy, a retired professor of physics at Dhaka University.[2] Roy graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree from BUET. He also achieved Master's and Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering from National University of Singapore (NUS).[citation needed]

Career

Roy published eight Bangladesh books and his articles have been published in magazines and journals. His last two books, Obisshahser Dorshon (The Philosophy of Disbelief) and Biswasher Virus (The Virus of Faith), have been critically well received and are popular Bengali books on science, skepticism, and rationalism.[3]

Works

  • Samakamita (Homosexuality)
  • Alohate Chaliyachhe Andharer Jatri 2007, about the origins of the universe
  • Avijit Roy and Farid Ahmed, Mohabisshe Praan O Buddhimottar Khoje, 2007
  • Obisshahser Dorshon (The Philosophy of Disbelief, or The Philosophy of Atheists)[3]
  • Biswasher Virus (The Virus of Faith)[3]

Mukto-Mona

Roy was the founder[4] and one of eight moderators of the Bangladeshi Mukto-Mona (freethinkers) website which was one of the nominees of The Bobs-Best of Online Activism award.[5][6][7] The site published death threats author Humayun Azad received before he was assassinated.[8]

Roy described his writing as "taboo" in Bangladesh, due to the constant threat moderates felt from religious radicals.[9] He had received death threats from hardline Islamist supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami party for his political articles.[10] Rokomari.com, a Bangladeshi e-commerce site, stopped selling books by Avijit Roy, after its owner received death threats from Islamists.[11][12]

Attacks and threats

Many Bangladeshi bloggers supported the 2013 Shahbag protests that sought capital punishment for the Islamist leader and war criminal Abdul Quader Molla, as well as to ban Jamaat-e-Islami from politics. Islamist groups responded by organising protests calling for the execution of "atheist bloggers" accused of insulting Islam, and the introduction of a blasphemy law.[13][14] Many atheist bloggers who supported the Shahbag protests came under attack, and Ahmed Rajib Haider was killed by Islamist groups on 15 February 2013.[6] A month before the protest, blogger Asif Mohiuddin was attacked outside his house by four youths influenced by Anwar Al-Awlaki.[15]

Mohiuddin, a winner of the BOBs award for online activism, was on an Islamist hit list that also included the murdered sociology professor Shafiul Islam.[16] Mohiuddin's blog was shut down by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, and he was jailed for posting “offensive comments about Islam and Mohammed.”[17][18] The secular government arrested several other bloggers and blocking about a dozen websites and blogs, as well as giving police protection to some bloggers.[19]

International organisations, including Human Rights Watch,[20] Amnesty International,[21] Reporters without Borders[22] and the Committee to Protect JournalistsCite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). for support, leading to international protests to support free expression.

Death

Avijit had arrived in Dhaka with his wife during the Ekushey Book Fair.[23] On the evening of the 26 February, he and his wife were returning home from the fair by foot. At around 8:30 pm, they were attacked near the Teacher Student Center intersection of Dhaka University by unidentified assailants. He was stabbed with sharp weapons in the head. His wife was slashed and her left hand finger was cut off.[2] Both of them were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Avijit died at 10:30 pm. In a twitter post on the day after his death, an Islamist outfit, named Ansar Bangla-7, claimed responsibility for the killing.[24]

Avijit Roy was survived by his wife and a daughter, who was in college in America at the time of the killing.[25]

Responses

After his death, students, teachers, bloggers and intellectuals gathered at Dhaka University, demanding arrest of the killers.[26][27]

The head of Reporters without Borders Asia-Pacific stated “We are shocked by this act of barbarity" and added "It is unacceptable for [police] to spend so much time searching news outlets, arresting journalists, censoring news and investigating bloggers, when the many attacks on bloggers are still unpunished."[28] The Index on Censorship CEO Jodie Ginsberg said: “Our sympathies are with the family of Avijit Roy. Roy was targeted simply for expressing his own beliefs and we are appalled by his death and condemn all such killings.”[29] The Asia Program Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists stated "This attack is emblematic of the culture of impunity that pervades Bangladesh, where the lack of accountability in previous attacks on the press continues to spurn a deadly cycle of violence."[30] The Center for Inquiry's chief UN representative stated "Avijit was brilliant, yes, and a devoted advocate of free expression and secularism, but also just a very good person."[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Assailants hack to death writer Avijit Roy, wife injured". bdnews24.com. Dhaka. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Blogger Avijit hacked to death on DU campus". New Age. Dhaka. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Lizzie Dearden (27 Feb 2015). "American-Bangladeshi atheist blogger Avijit Roy hacked to death by suspected Islamist extremists". The Independent.
  4. ^ Avijit Roy (1 May 2013). "No Flag Large Enough to Cover the Shame - Guest Post from Dr. Avijit Roy". Center for Inquiry.
  5. ^ "Mukto-Mona moderators". Mukto-Mona. Archived from the original on 2 Dec 2011. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2 December 2012 suggested (help)
  6. ^ a b "Activist, blogger and DW Bobs nominee Avijit Roy killed in Dhaka". Deutsche Welle. 26 Feb 2015.
  7. ^ "Islam-kritischer Blogger ermordet". Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  8. ^ "Humayun Azad - A Truncated Life". Mukto-Mona.
  9. ^ "Avijit Roy Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". heavy.com. 26 Feb 2015.
  10. ^ "Islamic death threats over books by Avijit Roy". The Free Thinker. 20 Mar 2014.
  11. ^ "Bangladesh online bookstore drops author after death threats". ucanews.com. 18 Mar 2014.
  12. ^ "Radical lslamists threaten Bangladeshi American Writer Avijit Roy". Policy Research Group Strategic Insight. 6 Apr 2014.
  13. ^ Associated Press (6 Apr 2013). "Hardline Muslims rally in Bangladesh amid shutdown". USA Today.
  14. ^ Farid Ahmed (8 April 2013). "Bangladesh Islamists rally for blasphemy law". CNN. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  15. ^ Staff correspondent (2 April 2013). "4 held over attempt to kill blogger". The Daily Star. Retrieved 27 February 2015. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ "BLOGGERS ON HIT-LIST POSTED BY SUPPOSED ISLAMIST GROUP IN BANGLADESH". 19 Nov 2014.
  17. ^ "Bangladesh gags award-winning blogger". Deutsche Welle. 25 May 2013.
  18. ^ "BLOGGER GRANTED BAIL ON HEALTH GROUNDS". Reporters without Borders. 7 Aug 2013.
  19. ^ "American atheist blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh". The Guardian. 27 Feb 2015.
  20. ^ "Bangladesh: Crackdown on Bloggers, Editors Escalates". Human Rights Watch. 15 April 2013. "the government is abandoning any serious claim that it is committed to free speech,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch."
  21. ^ "Bangladesh: Further information: Detained editor alleges torture". Amnesty International. 17 April 2013. Blogger Asif Mohiudeen, arrested on 3 April for allegedly posting blasphemous comments online, remains in detention and at risk of torture
  22. ^ "Call for detained blogger's immediate release". Reporters without Borders. 11 Apr 2013. Reporters Without Borders condemns the baseless judicial proceedings brought against the detained blogger Asif Mohiuddin, who could be tried and convicted on a charge of blasphemy and "hurting religious sentiments" at his next hearing
  23. ^ "Writer Avijit Roy hacked dead, wife hurt near TSC". The Daily Star. Dhaka. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  24. ^ "Ansar Bangla-7 claims Avijit killing responsibility". Prothom Alo. 27 February 2015.
  25. ^ Avijit Roy slain
  26. ^ JULFIKAR ALI MANIK, NIDA NAJAR. "Avijit Roy, Bangladeshi-American Writer, Is Killed by Machete-Wielding Assailants". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  27. ^ "Immediate arrest of Avijit killers demanded".
  28. ^ "Call for effective protection after another blogger hacked to death". Reporters Without Borders. 27 Feb 2015.
  29. ^ "Index on Censorship condemns brutal murder of blogger Avijit Roy". 27 Feb 2015.
  30. ^ "Blogger hacked to death, another seriously injured in Bangladesh". Committee to Protect Journalists.
  31. ^ "Statement on the Murder of Dr. Avijit Roy, Bangladeshi Ally and Friend". Center for Inquiry. 26 Feb 2015.

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