Admitting that the visa application of author and blogger Ananta Bijoy Das was rejected, the Swedish government has said the slain writer did not seek asylum to the country.
The Swedish government has issued a statement responding to an explanation sought by Swedish PEN asking as to why it rejected granting a visa for the author, BBC Bangla reports.
In the statement, the Swedish government termed the killing of Ananta very tragic.
It said if Ananta had applied for asylum to Sweden, they would have evaluated the application.
More than a month ago, Swedish PEN invited Ananta to Stockholm to speak about the deteriorating situation in Bangladesh for journalists and writers, a topic that has become highly actual after the brutal murders of blogger Oyasiqur Rahman Babu and writer Avijit Roy earlier in March.
PEN's invitation followed the standard procedure used when representatives of the international press and defenders of freedom of expression are invited to meetings or events within the framework of PEN's extensive programme activities.
But the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka refused to issue the visa required for him to visit Sweden.
Early on Tuesday morning, Ananta Bijoy Dash was hacked to death by men armed with machetes when leaving his home for work in the town of Sylhet in northern Bangladesh.