After a pattern of harrassment lasting several years, Bangladesh has found a pretext on which to try Salah Uddin Shoaid Choudhury for a crime punishable by death: Sedition, for advocating ties between his country and Israel. Sharia Alert from the Jerusalem Post: "Bangladeshi Muslim editor faces death penalty for moderate views"
A Bangladeshi Muslim journalist arrested in the past for advocating ties with Israel now faces charges of sedition, a crime punishable by death in Bangladesh, and will likely be put on trial by the end of the month, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
In a court session on Tuesday in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, a state-appointed judge ruled that the government's case against Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury could proceed to trial and that the hearings would commence within 15 days.
As editor of The Weekly Blitz, an English-language newspaper published in Dhaka, Choudhury aroused the ire of Bangladeshi authorities after he printed articles favorable to Israel and critical of Muslim extremism.
Bangladesh does not recognize Israel's existence and refuses to establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
In November 2003, Choudhury was arrested at Dhaka's international airport just prior to boarding a flight on his way to Israel, where he was scheduled to deliver an address on promoting understanding between Muslims and Jews. His visit to Israel would have been the first by a Bangladeshi journalist.
Choudhury was charged with sedition, held in prison for 17 months and was reportedly tortured before being freed in April 2005. But the authorities in Bangladesh, which is ruled by a coalition government that includes Islamic extremists, decided to continue pursuing charges against him.
Dr. Richard Benkin, an American Jew who led the fight to win Choudhury's release, told the Post that the situation facing the beleaguered journalist was dire.
"Choudhury has angered the Islamists, who both engineered his arrest and continue to see this as an important case," Benkin said. "He is a pro-Israeli, anti-terrorist Muslim who will not be cowed into silence."
After his release from prison last year, Choudhury proceeded to reopen his weekly newspaper, continuing to publish articles calling for greater interfaith understanding and warning of the dangers posed by fundamentalist Islamic terror.
Last month, unknown assailants set off explosives outside the newspaper's offices and planted a bomb in the press room that failed to detonate.
According to Benkin, Choudhury's family has been subjected to various forms of what appear to be orchestrated harassment. These have included pressure from the Bangladeshi authorities to denounce Choudhury, angry crowds gathering outside their home and even physical attacks. The intimidation has stopped "for the moment," he said.
In a May 20, 2005 opinion piece published in the Post, Choudhury wrote: "As a journalist, I counteracted the biased 'news' that promoted hatred of Israel and Jews, condemned terrorism, promoted the free exchange of ideas and urged Bangladesh to recognize Israel."
Describing the moments immediately before his 2003 arrest, he wrote: "Though physically still in Dhaka, my heart ached to kiss Israel's holy soil."
true moderate muslims can expect the same as this poor fellow from this wasted country. smarter muslims just leave islam.
Nice to see that Islam mirrors the West in one way-it too has political correctness.
Another morose comparison of us to them. We have people actually committing sedition and even treason (Bill Keller, Pinch Sulzberger, John Kerry, et al) and they go unprosecuted, and here we have these manly Paki prosectors and judges taking care of Mohammedan bidness over there in that hell-hole.
What can we do?
The intimidation has stopped "for the moment," he said.
BAHH, it never stops,it is only a matter of time before it happens again.
It is good to see people in Muslims in Muslim countries even think about a peaceful relationship with non Muslims.
After being tortured for over 17 months , this man continued to print articles mentioning peace. The world could use men of such courage.
I suspect his courage will put him in his grave, Justice in Islam usally results in death.
This proves that moderation and islam are incompatibe.
Everyone not toeing the official ideology is purged.
He should be offered asylum in the United States. And if he is unable to take up such an offer, because he has been jailed or executed, Bangladesh should be told that no one from Bangladesh will be admitted to the United States, as a tourist, as a businessman, as a student -- and of course, the days when Bangladeshis could freely swell the ranks of Muslims in the United States must come to an end no matter what.
And that's the start. Americans and also, latterly, Koreans have been setting up textile factories in Bangladesh. Those factories do not have to be there; they could move to China. A ban on goods made in Bangladesh could greatly damage the Bangladeshi economy. That too should be explained, carefully, as a certain consequence of any harm at all coming to Mr. Choudhury.
When the time comes for the handing out of assorted human-rights medals to those who truly defend them -- the kind of thing that the Kennedy School or the Kennedy family like to hand out, not to mention assorted rights watches of every variety, one hopes that Mr. Choudhury will, along with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, be considered as the obvious, well-publicized, recipient.
That is not what one necessarily expects. That is what one hopes.
I received this notification this morning:
"The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) reported late Thursday that the three Christian men facing the death penalty in Indonesia have been executed by firing squad. The men were executed just after midnight on Friday, September 22, 2006, Indonesia time.
“Justice has once again been denied Indonesia’s Christians,” said Jeremy Sewall, ICC Policy Analyst. “I am deeply saddened at this news, and ask all concerned Christians to pray for the families of these men. This is a tragedy. This is not justice.”
After their execution was stayed last month by the Attorney General for Central Sulawesi, Mohammad Yahya Sibe, he was suddenly replaced. He was the one who had to give the order for the executions to proceed. The Chief of Police was also suddenly replaced and sent to another department. The appeal for these men that should have lasted months or even a year to process was denied within weeks.
Tibo, Riwu, and Da Silva, all Christian, were the only men charged in the Poso conflict, even though the conflict started in 1998 and went till 2003. This is a glaring injustice and hints of a massive cover-up by the Indonesian government. ICC has personally investigated the Poso conflict. Entire Christian villages were attacked with government munitions and burned down using Indonesian government fuel trucks. Christian adults and children were beheaded. The Muslim community initiated the attacks and there was every indication that local Muslim government leaders were involved. Why were no Muslims ever charged in any of the attacks?
“These men were sacrificed as scape-goats so that the Indonesian government could wash their hands and walk away from the Poso conflict of 1998 to 2003. But if Indonesia really wants to show the world they value truth, they should re-open the investigation into this conflict and find all those responsible for the violence,” stated Sewall.
“Please pray that the Christians in Poso will not seek revenge for these executions, and that instead they would trust God to administer justice in his own time.”
To express your disappointment, you may still contact Indonesian embassy offices as follows:
Indonesian Embassy US
2020 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036, USA
Tel. - 202 - 775 - 5200;
Fax. 202 - 775 – 5365
Email:
Political Affairs Office:
made. mastra@embassyofindonesia .org
Information Office:
information@ embassyofindonesia .org
Consular Affairs Office:
lprakoso@ embassyofindonesia .org
Indonesian Embassy Website in Washington, DC:
http://www.embassyofindonesia.org/
You may also email directly to Indonesia:
Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia
Directorate of Information and Media Services
infomed@deplu.go.id
Indonesian embassies in other countries:
Indonesian Embassy UK
38 Grosvenor Square
London W1K 2HW
Tel. (020) 7499 7661
Fax. (020) 7491 4993
Indonesian Embassy Canada
Post Mail: 55 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 1E5, Canada
Phone: (613) 724-1100
Fax: (613) 724-1105
http://www.indonesia-ottawa.org/ "
Unfortunately, the violence of Islam against ideas and beliefs continues....
Punjabis are now radicalizing bengalis. ISI punjabi operatives have infiltrated bengalis and opened a third front against India.
Once India is defeated and killed, the jews will be under increasing threat since punjabi-arab-iran axis of evil will be more stronger.
Indians have stopped helping our struggle since a Punjabi president manmohan Singh came to power in India.
he refuses to take action against punjabi terror. He refused to criticize when Punjabis bombed balochis with F-16.
Indians should bring back Vajpayee and ally with us to liberate oppressed minorities from Punjabi tyranny.
My friends please spread the word about plight of balochis, sindhis and kashmiris.
Al Qaida will remain strong so long as punjabis are not bombed.
The penalty for thinking for oneself and speaking the truth in a muslim dominated nation. Pakilund is indeed a third world POS hell hole.