Bangladeshi blogger hacked to death
JournalismPakistan.com | Published: 31 March 2015
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A 26-year-old blogger was murdered in Dhaka, sparking outrage over freedom of expression. This incident follows the fatal attack on another blogger last month.Summary
DHAKA: A Bangladeshi blogger has been hacked to death in the country's capital, Dhaka, and police have arrested two students at an Islamic seminary in connection with the slaying. Washiqur Rahman's killing comes a month after a deadly attack on another blogger in the capital by Islamists.
Rahman, 26, was attacked at 9 a.m. (local time) by three men who used meat cleavers, a local police official told the Dhaka Tribune. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, the newspaper reported.
The newspaper said Rahman was apparently targeted for his writings about Islam. Two people were arrested and a third suspect fled.
The Tribune reported that Rahman's Facebook page contained posts that opposed what he called irrational religious belief. It said one of the Facebook groups he belonged to was called Atheist Bangladesh.
Rahman had apparently expressed solidarity on Facebook with Avijit Roy, the Bangladeshi-American blogger who was hacked to death Feb. 27 in Dhaka for "crime[s] against Islam." On Facebook, Rahman had posted #iamavijit after Roy's killing.
Blogger Rajeeb Haider was hacked to death on Feb. 15, 2013, for apparently the same reason.
Muslims make up about 90 percent of the country's 166 million people. - AP
Key Points
- Bangladeshi blogger Washiqur Rahman was killed in Dhaka.
- Two suspects from an Islamic seminary have been arrested.
- His writings criticized irrational religious beliefs.
- Rahman showed solidarity with another murdered blogger.
- The incident raises concerns over free speech in Bangladesh.
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