A mob attack on a stall at a book fair in Dhaka, by Bangladeshi writers, designers, and human rights activists, has been vehemently condemned, calling it a strong assault on the right to freedom of expression. The event, which occurred on Monday evening, followed due challenges on social media. The incident resulted in the police temporarily closing of the Amar Ekushey text good, causing a national outcry over the country’s growing intolerance toward free speech.
Alleging that the Yunus-led time state is supporting “extremists”, Taslima wrote on X:” Jihadist spiritual fanatics attacked the barn of the publication Sabyasachi at Bangladesh’s book good. Publishing my guide was their violence. The local place police and the book honest authorities had ordered the removal of my book. Even after it was removed, the fanatics attacked, vandalised the barn, and shut it down”.
The combined speech, issued by 124 writers, musicians and human rights activists in Bangladesh, said the problems and obstacles are not isolated situations, but part of a series of intended violence. It is a part of a series of related violence, including the brutal attack on Humayun Azad in 2004, the death of Abhijit Roy and editor Faisal Arefin Dipan in 2015, the latest destruction of shrines, preventing women from playing sports, and establishing a date for changing Begum Rokeya University’s name, according to the statement.
After being threatened with death by dramatic Muslim organizations for blasphemy in 1994, Taslima, a vociferous critic of radical Islam, was forced to flee Bangladesh.
The mob attack was condemned by deputy assistant Muhammad Yunus, who retorted the statement, saying:” It shows contempt for both the right of Bangladeshis and the rules of our country. This wonderful Bangladeshi cultural device, which honors the language martyrs who died on February 21, 1952 in defense of their mother tongue, betrays this violent bent.
Officers have been given the mandate to investigate the incident.
