Writers at Risk Database

Muhammad Zafar Iqbal

In 2018 Dr. Iqbal was stabbed by an anti-secular extremist after receiving multiple death threats. Iqbal recovered and one of his attackers received life in prison while another received… More

Matiur Rahman

Matiur Rahman

Rahman faces continued harassment for his journalistic work and ownership of Prothom Alo. He has faced at least 55 defamation charges since 2016, notably one related to his caricature… More

Shafik Rehman

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 one day later. He is still awaiting trial. More

Writers at Risk Database

Kem Ley

Kem Ley, a prominent political analyst who was critical of the government, was assassinated on July 10, 2016. Police prevented the commemoration of his death in 2019 and a… More

Writers at Risk Database

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

Sushmita Banerjee

Sushmita Banerjee

On September 5, 2013, Indian-Afghan memoirist Sushmita Banerjee was kidnapped and murdered, purportedly by a splinter Taliban group who claimed responsibility. No groups or individuals, however, have been held… 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

Writers at Risk Database

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

Writers at Risk Database

Shamsuzzoha Manik

On February 15, 2016, Manik was arrested after an extremist religious group threatened to hold protests over a book he published that was deemed offensive to Islam. Since October… More