The Amnesty International on Thursday asked Bangladesh authorities to act as another “secular activist hacked to death” in the capital.
“The vicious killing of another secular activist in Bangladesh is a grave reminder that the authorities are failing to protect people exercising their right to freedom of expression,” said the Amnesty International.
Four masked men attacked Nazimuddin Samad, 28, with a machete in Dhaka last night before shooting him dead. No one has claimed responsibility, but the killing fits the pattern of other similar attacks on secular activists by radical Islamist groups over the past years, according to the AI.
“There can be no justification for the brutal killing of Nazimuddin Samad, who has apparently paid with his life for nothing but being brave enough to speak his mind. This is not just a senseless murder, it is a blatant attack on the right to freedom of expression,” said AI’s South Asia director Champa Patel.
The AI said Nazimuddin Samad was a student activist who had organised campaigns for secularism on social media.
He was named on a “hit list” of 84 bloggers published by a group of radical Islamists in 2013, according to the AI.
In reference to the killing of four bloggers and one publisher in 2015, the AI said, “No one has yet been held to account for these killings and the Bangladesh authorities have failed to strongly condemn the attacks. Instead, they have instructed secular activists to stop ‘offending’ religious sentiments through their writings. Dozens of other bloggers have been forced into hiding or exile, fearing for their lives.”
“Bangladeshi authorities must categorically condemn these killings and take serious steps to end this horrific cycle of violence. Those responsible for the killings of secular activists must be held to account, anything less will send a signal that these attacks are tolerated and permitted by the government,” said Champa Patel.
“The authorities must also ensure that those activists and writers who are under threat are effectively protected in accordance with their wishes.”
Source: Prothom Alo