Ex-Bangladeshi Blogger Sharif Ahmed suffered attack, torture, religious psychological training and was eventually nearly hung to death because of his atheism. He escaped to Canada as a refuge fearing for his life. Sharif Ahmed joins Justin Trottier for an exclusive interview on Think Again! TV to discuss his story and the plight of atheists in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has recently been at the center of a human rights crisis as authorities have detained several prominent bloggers for "hurting religious sentiments," followed by the arrest of a newspaper editor who printed quotations from the targeted bloggers, and two more young people for making "derogatory remarks" about Islam on Facebook. Tens of thousands of people have rallied in the country's capital to demand more arrests, tougher blasphemy laws, and have threatened violence if their demands are not met by April 25.
An international coalition of atheist and humanist organizations, led by the Center for Inquiry and our partners the International Humanist and Ethical Union and American Atheists, will protest the arrest and persecution of atheist bloggers and other dissenters in Bangladesh with demonstrations in New York, Washington, London, Ottawa, and other cities around the world on Thursday, April 25.
These global demonstrations will be unprecedented for the freethought movement, as secularists around the world express their solidarity with those jailed for speaking their minds about religion. Protesters will draw the world's attention to the plight of those persecuted for exercising their rights to freedom of belief and expression, and attempt to spur the international community to take action and compel the government of Bangladesh to change course. Up-to-date information on protest events can be found at bit.ly/defenddissent.
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