Posts Tagged As: Bangladesh

Bangladesh Police Kill Militant Suspected In Murders of Gay Rights Activists, Secular Bloggers

Jim Burroway

June 20th, 2016

Police in Bangladesh yesterday shot and killed an Islamist militant who was suspected of being behind the killing of two gay rights activists in April, and for taking part in the killing of a secular blogger last year.

The militant, identified as Sharif, one of the leaders of the banned group Ansar Ullah Bangla Team, took part in the killing of blogger Avijit Roy, U.S. citizen of Bangladeshi origin, in Dhaka last year, police official Abdul Baten said. Sharif was also behind the killing of two gay rights activists in April, as well as four other bloggers and a publisher, the police officer told a news conference.

…“During the pre-dawn raid, our personnel had to open fire after three suspected militants on a motorbike started firing at them,” he said, adding that Sharif died in the gunfight while two others fled.

Xulhaz Mannan (left) and Tanay Mojum (right)

Xulhaz Mannan (left) and Tanay Mojum (right)

The Bangladesh government has responded to international pressure by launching a massive crackdown on Islamist extremists, resulting in the arrest of more than 11,000 people. While human rights activists have raised alarms over the growing violence of Islamist extremists, they also note that hundreds of innocent people have been swept up in the police crackdown.

Last month, Bangladesh police paraded Shariful Islam Shihab before a group of reporters, alleging that he was one of five to seven attackers who hacked to death Xulhaz Mannan, and editor of the country’s first and only LGBT magazine, and fellow activist and actor, Tanay Mojumda. According to witnesses, Mannan and Mojumdar were hacked to death with meat cleavers in Mannan’s apartment on April 25.

Suspect Arrested Over Bangladesh LGBT Activists’ Murders

Jim Burroway

May 16th, 2016

Police have arrested Shariful Islam Shihab.

Bangladesh has garnered a terrible reputation lately for violent attacks against bloggers, secular writers, professors, leaders of religious minorities, and other activists who dare to challenge the influence of conservative Islam in what had been a secular and relatively multicultural society. Militants have been specifically targeting those whom they accuse of atheism, like Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique who was hacked to death by machete-wielding Islamists as he set out to work one morning at Rajshahi University. He was the fourth professor at that university killed in recent year. (His daughter denies that he was an atheist.) More than two dozen have been killed since 2013, including two foreigners last October.

Two days after Siddique’s murder, Xulhaz Mannan, 35 and editor of the country’s first and only LGBT magazine, and fellow activist and actor, Tanay Mojumdar, were hacked to death on April 25. Mannan, who edited Roopbaan, and Mojumdar were attacked with meat cleavers in Mannan’s apartment by five to seven attackers, according to witnesses.

Xulhaz Mannan (left) and Tanay Mojum (right)

Xulhaz Mannan (left) and Tanay Mojum (right)

Mannan launched Roopbaan in 2014, and was an employee of the U.S. embassy in Dhaka where he worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). U.S. Ambassador Marcia Bernicat condemned the killing and called on the Bangladesh government “in the strongest terms to apprehend the criminals behind these murders.” An al-Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility, a claim that was disputed by the government, which instead blamed local Islamist groups.

So far, only one of the two dozen attacks have resulted in an arrest and prosecution since 2013. Mannan’s connections as a cousin of a former Foreign Minister in the governing party may result in a second prosecution. Yesterday, police arrested Shariful Islam Shihab, a member of the the banned Harkat-ul Jihad al Islami and another militant group, Ansarullah Bangla Team. According to police, Shihab confessed to the killing, which was the result of two months of planning. Police say they are reviewing video evidence to try to identify Shihab and other attackers in the crowd.

    

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