Freedom of the Press
We've got it pretty good in the Western world since freedom of the press, along with freedom of expression and association is guaranteed under secular Democracies. Not so, unfortunately, in countries where repression of news and ideas and affiliations are the order of the day in a closed society, where ultra-religious doctrines inform every aspect of peoples' lives leaving no opportunity to seek out new and different information which the authorities fear may cause the population to begin to reason, rather than react.Right now in Bangladesh, a courageous journalist by the name of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is set to go on trial for his life. The Bangladeshi government has officially charged Mr. Choudhury with serious offences in just about any country, but within a Muslim-dominated society these charges of espionage, blasphemy and sedition may cost him his life.
Mr. Choudhury is the publisher and editor of the English-language Weekly Blitz, published in the capital of Dhaka. That he has dared to publicly express opinions critical of Islamic fanaticism and at the same time expressive of support for the State of Israel has marked him as a hunted man. If the state doesn't end his life extremists within the country most certainly will. Yet, knowing that, he continued to defy danger and to speak his mind.
The capital offence which he stands charged with is that of being a spy for Israel. He was first arrested in 2003 at Dhaka International Airport, en route to Tel Aviv at the invitation of The Hebrew Writers' Association. Bangladesh does not officially recognize the Jewish state. The Weekly Blitz is the only pro-Israel newspaper in the Muslim world. Not an enviable position in which to find oneself by any means.
Mr. Choudhury was thrown into solitary confinement for 17 months, where he was reportedly tortured. Public pressure launched with the help of an American activist, Dr. Richard Benkin, assisted by the influence of a few U.S. congressmen, including Mark Kirk of Illinois helped to secure his release. Immediately upon his release Mr. Choudhury returned to work at his newspaper.
Mr. Choudhury then had his newspaper offices bombed by Islamist radicals, and on October 5 a mob attacked the journalist in his office, breaking one of his ankles. No one was arrested for this assault, and Choudhury was brought back to prison, ordered to stand trial for sedition, on the grounds that he has hurt Islam by praising Christians and Jews.
Should public pressure result in his release once again it would be a decided victory for the supporters of freedom of the press, along with interfaith dialogue and a potential link in the eventual reformation of Islam through encouraging other like-minded but hesitant Muslims to speak their minds.
We have an investment in the future in the fate of Mr. Choudhury.
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, November 14, 2006
<< Home