The war crimes trial activists of Gonojagoron Moncho, rights bodies and different political parties have protested the killing of blogger Niladri Chatterjee, also known as Niloy Neel.
Moncho activists gathered in front of the National Museum in Shahbagh following Niloy’s murder yesterday afternoon. From the procession, they demanded speedy process for finding out the killers.
The activists also criticised the government for its failure to find out the killers of the bloggers killed in the last few months and demanded early follow up of those cases.
Imran H Sarker, spokesperson of the Gonojagoron Moncho, said: “Niloy was involved with the platform to demand justice for the murders of Ahmed Rajeeb Haider, Avijit Roy, Oyasiqur Rahman Babu and Ananta Bijoy Das. The killings are taking place due to the negligence and inaction of the government.”
He said they would sit with different progressive organisations today to chalk out further programmes.
London-based rights body Amnesty International said that the Bangladeshi authorities must send a strong message that killings “aimed at silencing dissenting voices are despicable and will not be tolerated.”
Its South Asia Research Director David Griffiths said: “This spate of savage killings must end here. There is little doubt that these especially brutal killings are designed to sow fear and to have a chilling effect on free speech. This is unacceptable.”
Local rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) also condemned the brutal killing of Niloy at his residence.
ASK Executive Director Sultana Kamal, also a former advisor to a caretaker government, said: “The pattern of killing suggests that Niloy was killed by the same group of killers who killed blogger Avijit, Ananta and Oyasiqur earlier.”
She alleged that the law enforcers were not acting seriously enough to stop such violence on the free thinkers.
ASK also demanded independent investigation into the killing of Niloy.
Meanwhile, Communist Party of Bangladesh President Mujahidul Islam Selim and General Secretary Syed Abu Zafar Ahmed expressed grave concern and condemned the killing.
In a statement, the leaders called for all-out movement against all kind of killings.
On the other hand, Bangladesh Chhatra Union demanded immediate arrest of the killers of the bloggers.
The statement, signed by its President Hasan Tarek and General Secretary Lucky Akter, says that the government’s inaction and impunity created the context of the consecutive murder of bloggers.