UN, others condemn killing

Several international rights groups and online activists have strongly condemned the killing of blogger Niladri Chakrabarti, alias Niloy Neel, in the capital yesterday. The United Nations office in Bangladesh described the brutal attack as “a heinous crime against yet another on-line activist and an attack on tolerance and people peacefully expressing their views.” In a statement, UN Resident Coordinator Robert D Watkins urged the authorities to identify and bring the perpetrators to justice urgently. In a message sent from Geneva, UN special rapporteurs on freedom of expression and on extrajudicial executions, David Kaye and Christof Heyns respectively, called for a thorough investigation. “The violent killing of another critical voice in Bangladesh shows that serious threats to freedom of expression persist in the country,” the UN experts said. Amnesty International (AI) said Bangladeshi authorities must send a strong message that killings aimed at silencing dissenting voices will not be tolerated.
“This spate of savage killings must end here. There’s little doubt that these killings are designed to sow fear and have a chilling effect on free speech. This is unacceptable,” said David Griffiths, AI’s South Asia research director.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said authorities should immediately investigate the murder. "How many more bloggers must be murdered before the government acts decisively to stem the violence and impunity?" said CPJ Asia Programme Research Associate Sumit Galhotra. Bangladesh Online Activist Forum (BOAF) also demanded immediate arrest and punishment of the killers. In a statement, BOAF president Kabir Chowdhury Tonmoy said the culture of killing intellectuals is terrible for the nation.

 

 

UN, others condemn killing

Several international rights groups and online activists have strongly condemned the killing of blogger Niladri Chakrabarti, alias Niloy Neel, in the capital yesterday. The United Nations office in Bangladesh described the brutal attack as a heinous crime against yet another on-line activist and an attack on tolerance and people peacefully expressing their views. In a statement, UN Resident Coordinator Robert D Watkins urged the authorities to identify and bring the perpetrators to justice urgently. In a message sent from Geneva, UN special rapporteurs on freedom of expression and on extrajudicial executions, David Kaye and Christof Heyns respectively, called for a thorough investigation. The violent killing of another critical voice in Bangladesh shows that serious threats to freedom of expression persist in the country, the UN experts said. Amnesty International (AI) said Bangladeshi authorities must send a strong message that killings aimed at silencing dissenting voices will not be tolerated. This spate of savage killings must end here. Theres little doubt that these killings are designed to sow fear and have a chilling effect on free speech. This is unacceptable, said David Griffiths, AIs South Asia research director. The Committee to Protect Journalists said authorities should immediately investigate the murder. How many more bloggers must be murdered before the government acts decisively to stem the violence and impunity? said CPJ Asia Programme Research Associate Sumit Galhotra. Bangladesh Online Activist Forum (BOAF) also demanded immediate arrest and punishment of the killers. In a statement, BOAF president Kabir Chowdhury Tonmoy said the culture of killing intellectuals is terrible for the nation.