Why has Bangladesh gone crazy and started locking up bloggers?

Three_Bangladeshi_bloggers_arrested_for_offending_Islam_11A group of four writers have been arrested in Bangladesh and will stand trial in November. Their crime? They have been accused of publishing material that “causes hurt to religious beliefs”

[About here is the right place to start cranking up your stunned silence]

In the picture on the left, the three bloggers pictured in the middle are Subrata Adhikari Shuvo, Mashiur Rahman Biplob and Russel Parvez. Asif Mohiuddin was also arrested but is not featured in this photo. The guys on the extreme left and extreme right are DB (Detective Branch)

The Rationalist Association in the UK has the details with links back to other news reports, here is an extract …

The bloggers, who were first arrested in April, will now face up to 14 years imprisonment and hefty fines. They are the first people to be tried under the country’s new Information Technology Act, which bans the publication of online material that “causes hurt to religious beliefs.”

The Metropolitan Sessions Court in the country’s capital Dhaka decided yesterday that the bloggers will face trial in November. Asif Mohiuddin, Subrata Adhikari Shuvo, Moshiur Rahman Biplob and Rasel Parvez are free on bail at the moment after spending almost three months in jail. They pleaded not guilty at the hearing on Sunday, and petitioned forthe charges to be dropped. The court nevertheless rejected the petitions and ordered the trial to begin on November 6. The evidence given by the police on Sunday claimed that the derogatory posts of the four bloggers caused “a slide in law and order that led to anarchy.”

The bloggers were arrested amid heating tensions between Bangladeshi Islamists and anti-Islamist activists. In February, a blogger critical of Islam and the country’s largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami was murdered.

You would have thought that Allah would be would be capable of “punishing” them in his own good time, but no for some reason he needs earthly thugs to interpret and carry out his wishes. In response, I have a few words for the authorities in Bangladesh … “hey guys, your Mohammed is a violent intolerant misogynistic paedophile” … so have I “hurt” your religious feelings yet?

Actually, the above is factual criticism …

  • Mohammed was indeed very violent and also grossly intolerant, you only need to read the Quran to work that fact out
  • As for the charge of being a paedophile … also factual, at the age of 50 he “married” a six year old called Aisha, and that fact comes from traditional Islamic sources.

So when it comes to the idea that criticism of bad ideas has “hurt” religious beliefs, the fact that these thugs in Bangladesh have arrested Subrata, Mashiur, Russel and Asif has in effect done a great deal more to generate “hurt” feelings because it has thrown an international spotlight upon their intolerant batshit insane religious beliefs; many such as myself are now blogging about this – the arrest and trial has caused a considerable degree of real harm to the reputation of Bangladesh.

2 thoughts on “Why has Bangladesh gone crazy and started locking up bloggers?”

  1. abc … the only “vulgarity” on display here is your intolerance of fact-based criticism.

    The fact the basic human rights are being trampled upon is not suddenly OK if immoral unethical laws are utilized to justify it.

    As for who gave me the right to deploy such criticism? .. the concept is called “Freedom of speech”, clearly a concept you are unfamiliar with, and yet are happily exercising. Today freedom of speech, or the freedom of expression, is recognized in international and regional human rights law. The right is enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

    Bangladesh signed up to this on 6th Sept 2000 … so they are in effect in breach of international law.

    The violence and hate is what is on display in Bangladesh.

    Reply
  2. Dave Gamble, what do you think, you can post all your vulgarity, un-authentic & illogical shits against peoples & their religion but others can’t react.

    Who give you the right to trial others?

    It’s their country law; they have to follow as you are following your own country’s law (as you have to do it in either case your govt. will lock you up.) Did any one ask to you against your country and their actions against the peoples ever? Then who are you, a blogger huuuu.

    Take care your pant either to look into others and stop spreading violence and hate.

    Reply

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