Militant group
publishes global hitlist of bloggers, activists and writers
Nine UK-based bloggers on list
published by Bangladesh group Ansarullah Bangla Team, who have been blamed for
a series of murders
Bangladeshi secular activists take
part in a torch-lit protest against the killing of blogger Niloy Chakrabarti,
who used the pen-name Niloy Neel, in Dhaka on 8 August. Photograph: Munir
Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images
Wednesday 23 September 2015 05.00 BST Last
modified on Thursday 24 September 201500.00 BST
An Islamic militant
group in Bangladesh has issued a hitlist of secular bloggers,
writers and activists around the world, saying they will be killed if its
demands are not met.
The list will raise
fears that Islamic militant violence within the unstable south Asian country
could take on an international dimension.
The targets in the
list include nine bloggers based in the UK, seven in Germany, two in the US,
one in Canada and one in Sweden. Some are Bangladeshi citizens living overseas.
Others are dual nationals or citizens of the western nations.
British jihadis in Bangladesh fanning flames of
extremism, says Dhaka
The list was issued in
a statement on the internet by the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a group that
has been blamed for a series of murders of bloggers and
activists in Bangladesh over the last 18
months. All those killed have been prominent critics of extremist religious
doctrines, especially in Islam.
The acting leader of
the ABT and two close associates were arrested earlier this month in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, on
suspicion of involvement in the murder of a secular blogger earlier this year.
Individuals on the new
list have told the Guardian they intend to keep writing and blogging.
“Our weapon is [the]
pen, and we can use it without hurting anybody. We just want to make people
conscious about their rights. So that nobody can use them to fulfill bad
intentions,” said Ananya Azad, a Bangladeshi blogger who has been forced into
exile in Europe and is on the list.
There has been no
previous indication that the ABT was targeting bloggers overseas and the list
will worry security authorities in Europe and the US. 
Bangladesh police escort ABT head
Abul Bashar (left), Zafran Hassan (centre) and Julhas Bishas (second right).
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
British-based bloggers
of Bangladeshi origin named on the list have approached police in London and
elsewhere following its publication. They say authorities have have advised
them to take precautions to minimise the risk of attack.
Police have charged an ABT organiser and four supporters with the murder of a 27-year-old blogger,
Washiqur Rahman, in Dhaka in March.It is unclear if the
ABT has the capability to carry out their threats, but its call for action may
prompt individuals to mount “lone wolf” attacks.
Rahman’s death came
just weeks after a Bangladesh-born American atheist blogger was murdered in Dhaka
by machete-wielding attackers.
The murder in February of Bangladeshi-born US citizen Avijit Roy, a
science writer and blog moderator, prompted outrage around the world. His US-based widow is among those named on the new
list the group appear to have issued.
Officials suspect the
ABT is close to the Ansar ul-Islam organisation, which is part of al-Qaida in
south Asiaand launched by the extremist organisation about a year ago.
The statement featured
a logo comprising a black flag carrying the seal of the prophet Muhammad, often
favoured by extremist groups, and the phrase: “We do not forget, we do not
forgive” in English.
Al-Qaida has publicly praised violent operations by the ABT and has hailed
activists charged with the murder of bloggers as “lions of the international
community”.
The new list is
accompanied by an incoherent demand to strip bloggers of their citizenship. It
appears to be addressed to the government of Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh
Hasina, though many of those on the hitlist have dual nationality or are
citizens of Britain, the US or European nations.
“Cancel the
Bangladeshi citizenship of enemies ofIslam and
[Muslim religious] education, atheists, apostates, unbelievers, anti-Islamic
... bloggers, agents of India ... otherwise they will be killed wherever they
can be found in the Almighty’s world,” said the statement.
The origin of the list
is unclear, and some have doubted it is an official statement from the ABT in
Bangladesh, but instead compiled or published from the UK or elsewhere in the
west.
More than 150 writers,
including Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Yann Martel and Colm Tóibín, signed
a letter condemning the series of fatal attacks and calling on the government of Bangladesh “to
ensure that the tragic events … are not repeated”.
Authorities in Dhaka
have been previously criticised for requesting local bloggers and activists to
avoid provocative statements on sensitive religious issues.
Bangladeshi social activists in
protest at the killing of Avijit Roy in Dhaka on 27 February. Photograph:
Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Human Rights Watch, the international campaigning group, last month
called for the government “to recall that its duty is to uphold the
constitution and protect people’s lives, as well as their religious freedom”.
“It’s shocking that
Bangladesh authorities not only failed to protect the bloggers despite
complaints to the police about threats against them, but instead are proposing
self-censorship,” said the spokesperson.
Repeated efforts to
contact senior Bangladeshi officials for comment this week were unsuccessful.
officially secular country, but more than 90% of its 160 million people are Muslim. It gained its independence from Pakistan after a brutal civil war in 1971, which left deep scars. In recent years a new surge of extremism has exacerbated long standing tensions between conservatives and secular liberals.
Those on the list say
they are aware of the dangers of their activism. “I can’t give you assurance
that I can’t be hurt here also. Fundamentalists have threatened that they will
come and kill me,” said blogger Azad.
“I can’t say that I am
fully safe, as the fundamentalists know where I am residing. I can’t say what
will happen in future, but I can give you this assurance that I will write
until the end of my life.”
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