Ananta Bijoy Dash
Secular writer Dash was hacked to death by masked men with machetes in 2015. His brother filed a case, but Dash’s extremist attackers have yet to be brought to… More
Faisal Arepin Deepan
Deepan, a publisher of secular books, was stabbed to death by extremists in 2015. In late 2019, eight militants were indicted in a murder case filed on Deepan’s behalf. More
Muhammad Zafar Iqbal
Dr. Iqbal was stabbed by an anti-secular extremist after receiving multiple death threats. Dr. Iqbal recovered, and his attacker is being tried for attempted murder. More
Matiur Rahman
Rahman faces continued harassment for his journalistic work. He has faced at least 55 defamation charges since 2016, notably one related to his caricature of a local legislator. More
Shafik Rehman
Rehman was arrested without warrant in April 2016 in connection with a plot to kidnap and murder the prime minister’s son. An active member of the political opposition, he… More
Henry Sawpon
Sawpon was arrested for hurting religious sentiments on May 14, 2019 and was released on bail two days later. He is still awaiting trial. More
Rezaul Karim Siddique
On April 23, 2016, Siddique was murdered by Islamic militants. While his death by machete was similar to other secular bloggers, Siddique was not publicly critical of Islam and… More
Shahzahan Bachchu
On June 11, 2018, extremists murdered secular writer Bachchu in a drive-by shooting. Three of the four suspects were later killed in police shootouts, but the legal case is… More
Mehedi Hassan
After writing a March 2018 blog post exposing negligence in the construction of power lines that led to a woman dying of electrocution, Hassan was the target of physical… More
Shahidul Alam
An internationally-renowned photojournalist, Alam was arrested on August 5, 2018 for commentary criticizing Bangladesh’s response to road safety protests. Although his trial is ongoing, there have been no recent… More
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PEN America On 
Hours after our panel on the power of demonstration alongside @OsopePatrisse and @baratunde, @joshuawongcf was arrested. He's since been released but may face prison time for participating in a demonstration last year...and wearing a mask. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/24/pro-democracy-leader-joshua-wong-arrested-in-hong-kong
Last night at our @PENamerica event with @joshuawongcf @OsopePatrisse & @baratunde Joshua mentioned that afterward he'd have to report to a police station. He did, and was arrested. For what? Wearing a mask. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/joshua-wong-hong-kong-arrest/2020/09/24/87b72fc6-fe30-11ea-b0e4-350e4e60cc91_story.html
Completely agree--Nasrin's situation is critical, and her life hangs in the balance. The @UN needs to step up and work to get these unjustly imprisoned women freed ASAP. #FreeNasrin! #FreeLoujain! https://twitter.com/NickKristof/status/1308768754130546690