Save Bangladesh!

Bangladesh has been steadily growing and moving forward.

That is until now.

The ugly head of politics is now taking this third largest Muslim country in the world backward.

In the last two weeks about 200 people mostly unarmed peaceful demonstrators have been killed in broad daylight by the police and the notorious Rapid Action Battalion. They were protesting the death sentence to the most popular Quran scholar of Bangladesh. Maulana Dilwar Sayeedi is scheduled to be hanged in five weeks. This is gross injustice being done to him. Consider the following:
  • None of the three politically appointed judges heard the full court proceeding
  • They wrote the decision before even the proceedings ended
  • The defense witness were kidnapped right from the court as she tried to enter the court with the defense attorney
  • All human rights organization have declared these trials to be unfair.
Please download this a 4 page flyer which we have developed for your community to provide the background information about this. Please print and distribute in your community.

Media Issues:

Media as usual is giving very bias reporting of the issue with the exceptions of a few reports specially the one from Economist.

It is important that we keep media reminded of the need to balance their coverage.

Take Action NOW:

  1. Write to and call the media outlets listed below.
  2. Request that their journalist cover the news in Bangladesh from both the perspective of the Muslims as well as the government supporters, and the opposition parties.
  3. Request that the media outlet investigate and fully understand the causes of the conflicts, and expose the government’s human rights track record.
  4. Request that the media investigate the Tribunal and highlight the fact that the Tribunal procedures are severely corrupt and not in accordance with international human rights standards.
  5. Highlight that these corrupt procedures are handing out death sentences which are to be implemented very shortly.
  6. Highlight the fact that the example being set by the government and the Tribunal can set a very bad precedent in Bangladesh and throughout the region.
The contacts are as follows:

New York Times
Phone:    (212) 556-1234
The Executive Editor
 The New York Times
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018

Washington Post
Phone:    (202) 334-6000     
Martin Baron
Executive Editor
The Washington Post,
1150 15th Street NW,
Washington DC 20071

Al Jazeera    
Bureau Chief
New York Office
Al Jazeera International Inc
405 E 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017-350

Associated Press

NEW YORK    
Howard Goldberg
Chief of Bureau
HGoldberg@ap.org
(212) 621-7932

D.C.
John Pain
Chief of Bureau
JPain@ap.org
(202) 641-9660

BBC News
Room 7540
BBC Television Centre
Wood Lane
London
W12 7RJ