UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the killing of secular blogger Niladri Chatterjee.
The UN chief also called for bringing the perpetrators to justice.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson on Saturday, Ban voiced his deep concern over these “gruesome” crimes and their impact on the exercise of freedom of expression in Bangladesh.
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“He calls on the Government of Bangladesh to bring those responsible for the murder of Mr Neel and the other bloggers to justice in an expeditious manner and act to ensure that all Bangladeshis can enjoy freedom of expression and all other human rights without fear," the statement reads.
Also known as Niloy Neel on blogging platforms and Facebook, Niladri Chatterjee was killed with machetes by four unidentified assailants at his Goran residence in Dhaka around 1:30pm Friday.
Read More: UN condemns blogger Niloy killing
Niloy, who worked at an NGO, had rented the flat on the fourth floor of a building in the area two years back, identifying himself as a Muslim named Niloy Chowdhury. He used to stay with his wife Ashamoni and sister-in-law.
Recently he was trying to leave the country out of fear as three secularist activists had been killed by the militants since February. He also received threats several times.
Take a look: AQIS says its members killed Niloy Neel
A group named Ansar Al Islam, believed to be banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team, has claimed responsibility for the murder. In an email sent to the media in the afternoon, they said that Niloy had been killed for his blasphemous activities, and warned others of similar consequences for demeaning the Almighty and the Prophet.
