Bangladesh boosts security for writers, bloggers
Bangladesh police have boosted security for nearly three dozen secular writers, bloggers and intellectuals amid growing fears of militant attacks against them.
Muntashirul Islam, metropolitan police spokesman in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, said on Wednesday that the measure was taken after a prominent university professor alerted law enforcement agencies about receiving a death threat via an anonymous text message.
"We've provided security to those who've informed us that they're facing security risks," Islam was quoted as saying.
The developments come after the militant group al-Qaeda in the Indian Sub-Continent (AQIS), allegedly published a hit-list of 34 top Bangladeshi writers, bloggers, actors, secular activists and intellectuals on a website over the weekend.
"They must die. Our all Mujahideen, this is our duty to slash their head," the militant group said in a statement.
Reacting to the statement, Islam said that police are investigating threats posted by the militants. "We're trying to find out who posted it and from where."
Militant groups have targeted Muslims, Hindus, and Christians in Bangladesh over the past two years.
A gang of men carrying machetes and cleavers hacked to death Faisal Arefin Dipan, a publisher of secular books, at his office in Dhaka on October, 31. The al-Qaeda branch claimed responsibility for the attack.
On October 24, a bomb attack rocked Hussaini Dalan, the most important prayer and congregation site for Bangladesh’s minority Shia community in Dhaka. The incident left at least one person dead and dozens of others injured.
The bombing came just weeks after an Italian aid worker and a Japanese farmer were shot dead in Bangladesh. The attacks were both claimed by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
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