Meryl brought it up a few weeks ago. But, for some reason, this story doesn't seem to be getting nearly enough attention.
Since his arrest on November 29, 2003, Bangladeshi journalist, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, has been hauled before the court more than half a dozen times. Each time, the result was the same. Choudhury was returned to prison for "interrogation," with no formal charges launched against him.
This week, Choudhury's supporters fully expected him to be released, but on January 15, 2004, the presiding magistrate ruled otherwise, sending him back to prison, even while admitting his only offense was a minor one, whose accused are normally granted bail. Why this interruption of Bangladesh justice; why Choudhury? The answer involves his nation's Islamic Fundamentalists, Middle Eastern politics, and Jewish-Muslim relations.
Choudhury's "crime" is that he was publicly promoting better relations between Muslims and Jews, and closer ties between his country and Israel. To make matters worse, he was on his way to Israel to participate in a writers' conference sponsored by the International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace (IFLAC).
IFLAC is an Israeli NGO dedicated to promoting world peace through art, culture and literature, and Choudhury was recently named head of its Bangladeshi branch. So, obviously, in the minds of the Bangladesh government, he must be an Israeli spy. He's now been formally charged with "sedition," only because a formal charge was required to hold him any longer. There are reports that he's being abused in prison and that members of his family have recently been attacked and harassed.
I'm not a real believer in the efficacy of online petitions, but if you are, there's one on behalf of Choudhury here.
