Is freedom of speech at risk in the ongoing conflict between religious fundamentalists and secular voices in the media?
Over the past two months, thousands of people have taken to the streets of Bangladesh’s capital city, Dhaka, demanding justice for all those involved in war crime tribunals. And the story is evolving into a battle about blasphemy.
Like Pakistan and Egypt before it, Bangladesh's conflict pits Islamic fundamentalists against secular voices in the media.
Bangladesh has no specific anti-blasphemy law on the books, but political movements like the Hafezat-e-Islami, or the Protectors of Islam, want one. And they are targeting a group of online activists they call ‘the atheist bloggers of Shahbag Square’.
At the height of the unrest in March, one atheist blogger was killed and another four arrested. Mainstream media organisations have not escaped unscathed. News outlets aligned with groups like Hifazat-e-Islam have been shut down by the government of Shaikh Hasina.
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